Things Change
by applezz
Summary: This story is of a love triangle with Rachel, The Joker, and Batman/Bruce. Who will she choose? The handsome and caring Batman, or the charming and twisted Joker? Read to find out!
1. So Close, But Too Far

**Ok so this is sort of a short chapter but I'll try and not make them all this short. There isn't much interaction between Joker or Rachel yet but don't fret! There will be tons! Please feel free to review and tell me what you think! I'd love ideas from you guys and I'll try my best to add them into the further chapters to come. Enjoy!**

Chapter One

So Close, But Too Far

The Joker laughed excessively as Batman ran off to leave the building. The S.W.A.T team was running up the stairs. Still hanging upside down, he quickly pulled out a pocket knife and severed at the rope that tied around his legs until it started to fray; then into nothing. The Joker started to fall, his ludicrous laugh echoed in the night sky as he fell from 15 stories high. The clowns waited at ground level, holding out a large blanket that would secure his fall.

"Right on time," The Joker said after landing on the blanket and jumped off trying to find his balance,_ "_Don't you just love jumping off a building? It's just like bungee jumping but without the help of… a rope to spring you back up." The Joker teased and snickered as his gloved hands moved about as he spoke.

Suddenly gun fire shots rang in his ears and the Joker and his crew of clowns raced into a van and drove off.

"That was a close call, Sir," The driver said in relief.

"Hmmm…" The Joker licked his lips, "Pull over."

"What? Why?"

With no patience the Joker grabbed the driver with his right hand and pulled him off the seat into the passenger side, causing the vehicle to swerve left and right on the road. The other cars on the road honked at the unexpected surprise of the out of control vehicle. The Joker took hold of the steering wheel and straightened it out. He just laughed as he pulled the car over.

"Are you mad?!" The clown yelled that was pushed to the passenger seat.

"Well...hmmm… let's see," The Joker pulled out his shot gun and pointed it at him, then shot. "Maybe juuussstt a little."

Screams were heard from outside the van by the loud gun shot. The other clowns looked at the Joker in shock and fear that he might shoot them, too. The Joker looked at them, then back at the now dead man in the seat.

"Ah now look what you did!" The Joker spoke to the body in a displeasure and perverse voice, "You made a mess!"

The Joker reached over and opened the passenger seat door; pushing the body out into the street. "Problem solved!" The Joker foolishly smiled and closed the door.

"I don't mean to interrupt whatever you're doing Boss," One of the men in the back blurted out as sirens noisily rang out, growing louder as he spoke, "But the cops are approaching us."

"Fun fun fun!" The Joker yelled, laughing. "Just wait for the… perfect moment."

The Joker opened the car door, just waiting for the cops to turn the corner. When they did, they abruptly put on the brakes and surrounded the van. The cops quickly stirred out of their cars and crouched behind the doors, using them as a shield. A megaphone came on, and a male cop spoke.

"We have you surrounded, drop your weapons and abandon your vehicle."

The Joker mouthed the voice of the cop with annoyance, knowing exactly what he was going to say because this was all too familiar. Cackling under his breath, he took out one of his hand grenades from inside his coat, and quickly tossed it over at the blockade. He plugged his ears with his fore-fingers and shut his eyes tight with a giant grin on his face, listening to the panicked officers yelling out in horror as they tried to escape from the explosion waiting to happen. Suddenly, the sound of the detonation took out a police car, then another, and another like dominos. The rising flames lit up the street. Cries and screams filled the night air from what was peaceful only five minutes ago. The Joker laughed at the amusement, but a cop caught him off guard, pointing a gun directly at him.

"I want you and your friends to come out with your hands on your heads, now!" The cop yelled.

"Alright officer…you got me, but I have you know that it wasn't fair plaayyy." The Joker gagged.

The cop waited for the rest to exit the van. Once they did, the remaining cops hand cuffed them. The Joker just laughed at the one who was placing the cold steel around his wrists.

The officer ignored his ridicule and said, "Once again you're caught in the act. So close but yet too far. Looks like we're the ones who are laughing now. You know, I don't think there is enough room for you in jail. Maybe we should just put you in a circus instead?" A few of the cops were amused at his statement and laughed along with him.

"Hmmm…that's a good one!" The Joker joins in with the laugh which confuses the officers. "I have a small…question for you…however," Joker continues, clearing his throat, "How many friends of yours just got taken by the explosion? It's inconsiderate of you to be making jokes at this moment, hmm?"

Unimpressed, the officer roughly snatched the Joker's left arm. He laughed at the sudden pain as he was put into a cop car that just arrived, along with a few ambulances.

--------------

When they arrived it was early in the morning, around 2:00am, and Joker was put in cell to be further questioned. Gordon was there to see for himself if they really had caught the Joker. Of course, he was very pleased when he saw it was true. Rachel was there too, waiting for Joker to be questioned. Her and Gordon both stood in front of the cell, their whispers were low enough so the Joker couldn't hear them, but loud enough to hear themselves over the noisy bunch of other criminals. The Joker sat on a bench, glaring up at the two. He especially watched Rachel, remembering her face when he tired to find Harvey at the City Hall. Rachel had an expressed look of sadness and depression, knowing that The Joker used Harvey for one of his sick games, resulting with one half of his face destroyed. The love of her life, Harvey, was now dead, and it has grown a whole in her heart. Gordon explained everything to her. How he changed, shot those five people and two of them were cops. However, he didn't know why he had turned into a monster. Batman took the fall, everyone believing it was him who murdered those five people. It was hard, and Rachel of course didn't want to even consider that it was all true. She had her cry, and now she is here.

The Joker's elbows dug into his thighs, and his palms were clasped together; his fingers tapping each other. He glared at the movement of their mouths as they talked, almost as if to read their lips. He kept his eyes on Rachel, just waiting for her to glare back.

"I think its best that you go home and get some rest," Gordon told Rachel, "I'll be interrogating him."

They both looked over to the Joker. Rachel locked eyes with him and her face twisted with disgust. Fear melted inside of her, which is exactly what the Joker wanted. He grew a half grin, and Rachel's fear intensified.

"That's a good idea," Rachel spoke in a shaky and serious tone, still looking at the clown in the cell, "I'll come back later and see how far you got with him." Rachel then walked off, leaving Gordon standing in front of the cell.

"Put him into the interrogation room," Gordon pointed to The Joker. The officer opened the cell door and grabbed Joker's arm.

As soon as the Joker was placed into the interrogation room, Gordon walked in. They caught each others eyes, and The Joker licked his lips and spoke slowly.

"Evening…com-miss-ioner. This seems…vaguely familieerrr. Nice to see you… again." The Joker smiled showing his yellow teeth, accentuating his last word with a disappointing tone.

Gordon sat down on the chair across the desk from Joker. He looked intently at the clown's face, hoping to get any answers by just looking at him. Of course, there were no results.

"You know…it's rude to stare…" The Joker stopped the silence between them.

"Why are you doing this to innocent people?" Gordon blurted out. He waited for an answer, but got none. "WHY?!" He yelled this time, pounding his fist on the desk.

The Joker didn't flinch, not even blink.

"Whoa, calm down commissioner. That's no way to treat someone that you're trying to get answers from. Now…let's start over." The Joker smirked and licked his lips. "You were asking why I do this to innocent people."

Joker was playing games, and Gordon did not have patience for them. He calmed down and gestured his hand for an answer. The clown bit his lip and lifted his brow.

"Well, ask…me…"

Gordon rolled his eyes and repeated his question. The Joker laughed, pleased that he got his way.

"Chaaooss, if you will," The Joker smacked his lips, "puts everything out _of_…proportion. Everything is all rules. I hate rules, it's mundane. I don't know those people; they just get in the way. When the rules are broken, everything turns uh…crazier. So you see, everyone is just. Like. Me. I'm just ahead of the _curve_. People are just so…readable. It. Makes. Me. Sick." He growls in his throat.

Gordon isn't pleased, but asks another question trying not to get angry. "Why do you laugh when you feel pain?"

The Joker snarled, and then smiled. "People are…afraid of their own reality. People automatically assume that pain is something to _avoid_. Pain wakes you up, makes you realize that you are still alive. In your…en-count-er of pain you find strength. Pain is reality, and avoiding it means you're letting society tear you down."

Gordon looks at the Joker dumbfounded. "Okay Joker, what exactly happened to Harvey Dent?"

The Joker bit the scar on his lip. "If you really want to uh…know, why don't you just ask the Batman? I'm sure he'll love to tell you."

"The Batman won't be around for a while. Why don't YOU tell me?"

The Joker burst into laughter. "Is the batty hiding in his cave? Harvey _sure_ made a mess!"

Gordon grew impatient. "What happened?!" He yelled.

"What did I say about treating guests nicely?" The Joker waited for a respond while licking his lips. "If you really want to know, I'll give ya a hint just between you and me," He eased in closer to Gordon's ear, "Whatever doesn't kill you simply makes you…_stranger." _His voice grew deeper on the word 'stranger' then broke open into laughter once again right in Gordon's ear. Gordon snapped his head back away from the Joker and rubbed his now ringing ears.

Gordon stood up from his chair and knocked on the door for someone to let him out with Joker's laugh still echoing the room.


	2. Hello Beautiful

**So this is Chapter 2 and hope you guys enjoy it! I would also like to thank you guys for the reviews! It is a little difficult to write what the Joker is saying and such, but I find it to be fun as well. I'm glad you guys liked it! And yeah, I wanted Joker to have a humorous side to him and not be completely evil. Anyway, read away!**

Chapter Two

"Hello Beautiful"

Hearing the sound from her alarm, Rachel woke up and got off her bed. It was eight o'clock in the morning. The first thing she thought of when waking from her slumber was Harvey. She was lonely not having him there to see when she woke up. Rachel felt her tears fill her eyes, and everything became blurry. Wiping them she told herself to stop. She knew she had to get to work and ask Gordon if he learned anything from the Joker.

When she reached her destination she went straight to Gordon's office.

"Oh, good morning Rachel," Gordon smiled while fixing his glasses.

"Good morning," Rachel nodded, "So what did you learn?"

Gordon knew that was going to be the first thing she would ask. "Not much, he mostly just taunted me with his laughs and games." Gordon then explained everything to her. "But there was one thing he said to me about Harvey which I've been thinking about all morning when I woke up."

Rachel was glued into the conversation now. "What? What did he say?"

"He leaned in and told me 'Whatever doesn't kill you simply makes you stranger.' Of course afterwards he laughed straight into my ear. What I gathered from was that what he went through really put a toll on him and messed up his mind."

"The Joker is hiding something," Rachel grew frustrated at Joker's mind games.

"I know, but it was too early in the morning so I thought I would continue questioning him later."

"Maybe I should question him?" Rachel said.

"No, that wouldn't be the best idea for you."

Rachel rolled her eyes and bolted out the room, heading straight to the City Jail. Once reached, she stood in front of the bars. The Joker looked up at her and grinned. She was breathing heavily, and some strands of her hair fell out of place from her bun.

"Well hellooo beautiful," The Joker licked his lips.

"Don't you dare call me that." Rachel replied flatly but with a hint of anger.

"Feisty, I like that," Joker chuckled.

Ignoring his comment she continued. "What is it you know about Harvey? I know you're hiding something."

"Ah, you must be Miss. Dawes, remember me? Hmmm? You and I had a moment," he laughed, "Hmm…trying to find the missing piece of the puzzle?" The Joker's eyes danced around her face, "Are the questions not saved for the interrogation room? This is my time your on." The Joker smacked his lips.

Rachel crossed her arms. He gave her a smile and stood up, walking closer to her. She then stepped away. The Joker laughed at her intimidation. He looked straight into her eyes and she was frozen, almost as if she was hypnotized. Suddenly after a few seconds she came back to Earth.

"Oh, I guess…I'll just leave." Rachel didn't know what to say then. She walked off and drove back to the office to continue to do other things.

----------

When Gordon was ready to ask the Joker questions, Rachel made sure to stay and watch behind the two-way mirror. She had asked Gordon if he could start by asking him about Harvey, and he agreed that he would. The Joker's face paint was smeared about his face, making him seem creepier. He was biting his lip and looking around the room. When Gordon entered the interrogation room, the Joker stopped what he was doing.

"Where's that beautiful Miss. Dawes?" Joker asked loudly, "She seemed so eager to get answers from me," He peered at the mirror and smiled.

Rachel shivered in repulsion, but liked the fact of being called beautiful whether or not it is what he calls every woman.

"I will be asking the questions," Gordon spoke with annoyance, "Now; I would like you to tell me exactly what happened with Harvey."

The Joker laughed as usual and licked his lips. "Y'see, all I did was I brought him down to my level," his elbows sat on the table with his hands flat up in the air shaking them, "It wasn't hard, no. But y'know…if you think about…just a little, he must have already had it in him. I just gave him, you could say, a little push." The Joker smacked his lips and could tell Gordon was displeased so he continued, "You know, I never told him to kill those five people. No, he took that upon himself." The Joker laughed but was cut short to continue talking once again. "Like I said to my good old friend Den-t, I'm not a man of schemes. It wasn't my doing to go blow him up. Everyone assumes I do things all," The Joker makes air quotes with his next three words, "'according to plan' but-" Joker notices that Gordon is about to interrupt him, "Ah ta ta ta ta, let me finish. Now, if I did plans there wouldn't be enough chaos, nobody would panic. All I do is upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos! I also told Harvey that too incase you or your friends behind the mirror there are writing things down."

Rachel could feel her head spinning. If it wasn't for Joker, Harvey would never have killed those five people, he'd still be alive, and Batman wouldn't be the one to blame. She studied the Joker as he talked. Of all her hate for him, she couldn't help but be curious about him. His eyes were mysterious. She wanted to know more about him, what happened to him in the past. She caught her thoughts and quickly shook them off.

Gordon took a break and walked out of the interrogation room. The Joker looked up at the ceiling again like he did before Gordon first came in to question him. He walked up to Rachel.

"Could I ask some questions?" Rachel asked.

"Oh…I don't know Rachel."

"Its okay, Gordon," Rachel put her hand on his shoulder and spoke with a soft voice, "It's nice that you care about me, but I think I will be ok." She gave a reassuring smile. They both looked at the Joker and he was pretending his hand was a plane flying across his face.

"Alright alright." Gordon sighed, opening the door for Rachel.

She walked in and the Joker looked up and smiled. He started clapping his hands in slow repeated segments. Rachel was taken aback by this. Joker stopped clapping.

"If it isn't Miss. Dawes. I was getting a little bit bored of four eyes," The Joker yawned to prove his point.

Rachel stared at the scars on his face. Questions started to run through her mind once again. What was his real name? His age? What he used to be like? And if he might still have a part of him in himself then just the Joker.

"Do my scares intrigue you?" The Joker knew exactly what she was thinking and smiled.

Rachel smiled back sheepishly. "I was just wondering how you could have possibly got them. Was it true that it was your wife?" Rachel remembered back to when he told her the story. She sat down on the chair across from him.

The Joker laughed and ignored her question. "You're a lawyer. I have a joke I think you might… just might like." he licked his lips, ready to speak again.

"I'm not here for jokes." Rachel crossed her arms and lifted her brow. The Joker lifted his brow too.

"Just one. You'll…like…I-t." He said smacking his lips.

"Fine." Rachel rolled her eyes, not trusting him.

Joker blinked. "If you were stranded on a desert island with Batman, Two-face, and a lawyer, and you have a gun with only two bullets, what would you do?"

Rachel twitched at the word Two-face, and was afraid of the answer. "What?" She asked crossly.

"Shoot the lawyer twice!" The Joker burst out laughing and paused, "No offence to you though beautiful." His face tilted back as he beamed and continued with his laugh.

"That's not funny!" Rachel yelled, listening to his demented laugh. She got annoyed. "You're crazy!"

The Joker stopped his laugh, and his face turned expressionless. "I'm not. No, I'm not." He said talking deeper then usual. He hated it when people called him a freak, or crazy. He overlooked what he said in his mind, and tried to hide his anger with a laugh as he noticed Rachel's face burn red. "It was only a joke! Don't take it personal! Although…when you said "Crazy" did you mean that I was wild or passionate?" He smirked.

"Now you're just being impossible." Rachel wasn't sure if she should laugh or not, but kept a frown anyway.

"There's the word!" The Joker spoke loudly, clapping.

The Joker gave a small grin to Rachel; he could tell she was trying to hold her lips from smiling. "Come on, come on."

"What?" Rachel was confused.

"You know, it's not good to hide your feelings. Smile once and a while. I've learnt from my… mistakes…and now I'm always smiling!" The Joker lifted his arms up in the air in victory.

Seeing his act, Rachel accidentally formed a smirk on her face.

"There you go!" The Joker was pleased. "Now, what was it that you, you wanted to ask me?" His voice became a tone lower and he licked his lips. Hearing no answer he talks again. "Hurry it up, times getting on," The Joker tapped on his invisible watch on his wrist, "I've got things I want to uhh…do."

Rachel was puzzled on what else he could possibly be doing besides what he was doing now. She disregarded it, however. "If you don't mind me asking, what exactly makes you tick? That makes you make so much chaos."

"What makes me tick? Hmmm…that's a toughie." The Joker looked up tapping his chin. "Well, it's either being forced into this room to stare at a blank wall for hours with people asking me questions, or that I uh," The Joker eased his face closer to Rachel's and licked his lips, "Just. Don't. Care." He laughed and sat back up again.

Just then Gordon opened the door which startled Rachel. He walked up beside her.

"I think that should be enough, you won't get anything from the Joker today." Gordon spoke.

"Listen to the commissioner, he knows what he's talk-ing about," The Joker leered.

Rachel sighed, "Alright."

"Awe, upset that we have to depart so soon?" Joker pouted.

"Oh yeah, I just can't get enough of you," Rachel rolled her eyes and laughed scornfully.

The Joker did a short laugh as Gordon grabbed him by the arm for him to stand up, and placed cuffs around his wrists. Rachel got up to, and walked towards the door, swaying with poise. As the Joker was walking behind her, he caught the sway of her walk and he wolf whistled towards her. Gorgon elbowed him in the gut to get him to shut up, but all he did was do his usual crazy laugh and carried on talking.

"Well well well, Miss. Dawes. If I didn't know any better I'd think you were trying to impress me."

'Damn that Joker!' Rachel thought to herself. She turned around and lifted her left eyebrow. "In your dreams, clown boy." Rachel turned back around looking down to the floor as she slipped a hidden smirk. She was proud of herself that she made the Joker speechless, or at least laugh less. The Joker peered glossy-eyed at the back of Rachel's head, not sure what to think. With a side sneer he chuckled under his breath. She continued walking in front of them until she turned to leave out the door.

"See you soon Miss Dawes!" The Joker yelled out to her and laughed.

For some reason 'See you soon Miss. Dawes' repeated over and over again in her mind which sent chills down her spine, along with his laugh which would stay with her forever.

----------

Rachel had gone back to her office to catch up on a few things, and then went out to lunch. When her work day was over roughly around 8:00pm, she planned to visit Bruce at his penthouse. He had called her over for a late dinner knowing she wouldn't be getting off work until late evening. She wondered how he had been since last night. Then her mind went straight to Harvey. Rachel's eyes twitched and filled with tears. She pulled her car over and placed her forehead on the wheel. It had been a good five minutes before she finally calmed herself down. Rachel longed to feel his touch again, to taste his lips. She quickly tilted her head up to look at the rear view mirror for any make-up that had slid it's way around her eyes and down her cheeks to cover up any evidence that she had been crying. If Bruce ever knew he would keep asking her if she was alright and would never hear the end of it.

When Rachel finally reached the apartment building and stepped outside, the cold evening air met her cheeks. She walked briskly to the large glass doors and entered. The lobby had black and white marble flooring with large pillars holding up the arched ceiling. Chandeliers lit up the room, with two fireplaces on each side of the room as well. Rachel walked into the elevator; pressing the number to reach the highest floor to Bruce's penthouse. When she knocked on the door, it only took a few seconds to be opened by a very familiar face. Rachel smiled.

"Hello Alfred!"

"Hello, Miss! It's so good to see you, come on in," Alfred said with gleam. "Bruce is waiting for you."

Alfred took off her coat. The penthouse was modernized and much different then the lobby. Rachel walked into the kitchen, hearing noises of the dishes clatter around as she saw Bruce place them on the table. She cleared her throat to get Bruce's attention. He looked over at her and smiled, though it looked weak.

"Hi Rachel," Bruce was happy to see her.

"Bruce…is everything okay?" Rachel was concerned for him.

"Just a bullet wound," He chuckled.

"Just? What do you mean just?"

"I've been through far worse Rachel, I'll be fine."

Alfred walked up beside Rachel. "He's healing, no worries, Miss."

"Alright, I can trust your opinion," Rachel smirked at Alfred, then at Bruce. He smiled back.

The two sat down, and all Rachel wanted to talk about last night, but thought that maybe she would wait for Bruce to bring it up. Alfred placed the food on the table; whipped potatoes, sautéed snow peas with tarragon, and filet mignon wrapped in bacon with béarnaise sauce on the side.

"Looks good," Rachel licked her lips to show her excitement as she scooped up some potatoes with her fork.

"It is. So, the Joker is secure in jail?"

Rachel swallowed her food. "Yes, unless he has some other plan up his sleeve in means of escaping I don't think he'll be getting out anytime time soon."

"Well I hope so," Bruce stated. "Otherwise, I don't know if Batman will be there next time to help."

"Why not? Really, I don't understand. You've been there for Gotham so many times before."

Bruce sighed and put down his fork and took a drink of his white wine. "One murder is just as bad as several. You don't get a second chance with something like that."

"It's just frustrating that everything gets blamed on you."

"And you know why. I can't harm Harvey's reputation. It's best his grave says "hero" rather then "murderer of five people."

Rachel became upset and Bruce put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up the topic."

"No, it's okay. It's not your fault. I just can't believe that everything happened the way it did." Rachel took another bite of her food, and then leaned her head on her hand.

"Hey," Bruce placed his fore-finger under her chin to lift it up, "Can I see that beautiful smile of yours?"

Rachel couldn't help but show a small smirk.

"There it is!" Bruce smiled back.

Then that's when it hit her. Rachel suddenly remembered that the same thing happened with the Joker. He wanted to see her smile too. She quickly shook the thought of him away as Bruce's face came into view when she looked at the glow in the creases of his attractive smile.

After the dinner was over it was around 10:00pm. They talked as they ate and had a lot of laughs. Deep down, however, Rachel was still glum, and felt like she had a part of her missing. When the time came where she had to leave, Bruce walked with Rachel to her car, and they hugged a goodbye. Once Rachel was home she dressed into her pyjamas and went into her warm sheets in her bed. She kicked her legs back and forth to get comfy and warm. Hugging her blankets, Rachel slowly drifted off to sleep.


	3. Escape

Chapter Three

Escape

_Three hours ago…_

"See you soon Miss. Dawes!" The Joker laughed. He watched her walk away to the outside world of Gotham. The Joker could feel heat and anxiety burning up inside of him; anxiety to get back out there again and do what he does best. Gordon shoved him into the cell and shut the iron bar door.

"Y'know…how many times do I have to tell you how to treat your guests?" The Joker laughed.

"As many times as you want." Gordon said expressionlessly while turning to walk away.

"Things have changed," The Joker spoke up, stopping Gordon in his tracks, but still having his back to him, "They're never going back to the way things…_were_."

"Excuse me?" Gordon turned around and the Joker smiled.

"When I was a booyy," The Joker cleared his throat, "I once prayed to God for a uh… a bike because my parents could never afford one. I was naïve then. I quickly found out that things didn't work. That. Way. So instead, I stole one," The Joker gave out an outlandish laugh. "Father didn't like that very much, but I prayed for god's forgiveness and y'know what I got?"

Gordon shook his head.

"I got these," The Joker points out his scars with his tongue. "Y'see, my dad was an abusive drinker and so he didn't take this little incident very well. He went off a little more insane then u-su-al. My mother gets out the kitchen knife, but he looks to me and grabs my face asking 'Why so serious?' At this point he snatches the knife from my mother's hands," The Joker yells out the word "snatches" and licks his lips, "And takes it to the corners of my mouth and says 'let's put a smile on that face!'"

The Joker enacted the invisible knife being cut across his mouth so well that it made Gordon startle in shock.

"I don't pray to God anymore," The Joker finally said after a moment of silence.

"Well…I…" Gordon didn't know what to say, but the Joker continued talking as if the story he just told wasn't a big deal.

"What I'm getting at is, like my scars, Gotham will never go back to the way things were. There is no God to pray to, and everyone has to make their own luck. I believe that if you look for something, you'll never find it. I don't depend on it, so I'm always lucky."

"And how are you lucky right now?" Gordon asked.

"That's a uh, very good question. I guess we're just going to have to wait and see what happens…hmmm?" The Joker sneered and laughed.

Unsure if there was some hidden message into what the Joker said, Gordon asked if it would be a good idea if there was a guard watching him all night, in which case they agreed to it.

---------

An hour later the Joker still sat in the same spot he resided after Gordon had shoved him back into the cell. The guard looked anxious and glanced back at the Joker from time to time. The Joker snarled under his breath every now and again, and the cop was not sure if it was meant to daunt him or just because it was a habit of the clown to do so. The Joker could sense his feebleness and smiled whenever the cop was startled by any sudden noises of the quiet room. He tried to hide this, but the Joker caught every act.

"You look, uh, anxious officer," The Joker finally spoke, "Yet you're the one with the gun."

"I'm fine, thanks," The cop said angrily, making sure not to give him direct eye contact.

"We've got a fibber ladies and gentlemen!" The Joker lifted up his arms to an invisible crowd.

"I'm not a fibber!" The cop yelled.

"No, I'm sorry. You're not a fibber; you just lie through your teeth." The Joker grinned.

"I'm not a liar, either," The cop said blankly and getting frustrated.

"Y'see! You just lied again. Everyone lies sometimes; even I know tha-_t_." The Joker smacked his lips.

The cop was about to speak, but suddenly the building started to shake, causing the fluorescent lights to flicker for a few moments. A few people in the other rooms could be heard screaming. The Joker laughed in excitement.

"What the fuck was that!?" The cop screamed, almost falling over.

"That?" The Joker smirked, "That would be my ticket out of here."

Unexpectedly the brick wall exploded into pieces, and the cop flew against the iron bars. Quickly, the Joker wrapped his arms around the guard's neck, suffocating him until he finally collapsed. A few clowns came into the room, and one of them took the keys from the pocket of the cop's suit and unlocked the cell door.

"Pass me that!" The Joker yelled to one of the clowns, and he threw him a machine gun.

Cops hurriedly dashed into the room with their guns, but the Joker and his crew were too quick for them; already shooting them down one by one like target practice. The last officer put down his gun and kneeled on the floor with his hands up in the air; pleading them to stop.

"Hmmm," The Joker slowly walked towards the cowered man on the floor, "Where's all my things?"

"In…in the evidence r-room," The cop stuttered, "Down the hallway…it's the second door to the left."

The Joker nodded to Grumpy, who quickly left to look for them.

"Please, I have a wife and kids." The cop cried.

The Joker crouched to his level and draped his hand over his mouth.

"Look at me." Joker asked calmly, but the cop kept looking down and giving him a hard time. "LOOK. AT. ME!" He yelled this time. When they're eyes finally met, Grumpy came back with a bag load of knives and grenades. The Joker snatched a knife and put if to the panicked man's lips.

"Do you wanna know how I got these scares?"

He cop never answered, but instead kept his horrified eyes on the Joker.

"I was ten years old, and there was this…bully…at school…who picked on kids like me. One day as I was walking home, I was jumped by this bully. He wanted me to plead for mercy but…I wouldn't do it. So he took out his pocket knife and put it to my face, like I'm doing to you now," The Joker licked his lips, "He asked me one more time but I still didn't speak, so…he took the blade right to the corner of my mouth, laughing as he did it," The Joker placed the blade so close to the corner of the cop's lip that it drew blood, "And…well, I assume you know what happens next."

The cop squeezed his eyes shut, mouthing the word 'please' over and over again.

"Boss, we've got to go," One of the clowns yelled as sirens were heard in the distance.

The Joker froze for a moment, then snapped the knife away from the cop; cutting his lip.

"I never got to finish the best part of my sttorrryyy. Too bad, you would've liked _it." _The Joker patted the officer's head as he sat up from the floor; jumping over the broken bricks and ran outside into the darkness.

----------

It was the next morning, and Rachel woke up early as usual to get ready for work. However, this day was a little different. She had an unsure feeling that something was wrong, and a wanting to figure it out. Suddenly her phone rang. It rung five times until she finally found it sitting between the cousins of the couch. She sat down and answered it. It was Gordon.

"Good morning Rachel. Well, it's not actually good."

"What? What's wrong?"

"Put on your TV to the news channel, are you sitting down for this?" Gordon's voice was of worry and aggravation.

"Actually, yes." Rachel confirmed, turning on the TV. She scoffed at the fact that she found the remote sitting nicely on the arm of the couch yet she couldn't find the phone.

The thought left her mind as she rapidly froze in her spot as soon as she turned on the news.

"Yes, the Joker is at large once again…" The reporter spoke.

"This can't be happening," Rachel said in surprise.

"I thought the same thing until they showed video where the security camera caught all the action on film. I think they're putting it on again."

Rachel kept her eyes glued on the TV, never leaving it once until finally they put it on.

"I must warn you," The reporter said just before the video was put one, "The scenes are very graphic and dreadfully disturbing."

They played it right at the start of the explosion to the part where the Joker and his crew left the building. The video had no sound however, which frustrated Rachel excessively. She kept thinking about the part where the Joker just let the cop go, and she replayed it in her head over and over again.

"I don't understand. Why would he just let the cop go?" Rachel asked Gordon, realizing that he was still on the phone.

"I don't know, maybe he didn't have enough time?"

"Oh come on! You know as well as I do that if he were to actually have done that to the cop's mouth it would have been as fast as striking a match."

Rachel tried her best to make herself believe that the Joker had a good side to him; that he wasn't all bad. But maybe he did still have some good in him, and Rachel wanted to hold on to that.

"You have a point," Gordon agreed, "Well I'll see you soon."

"Alright." Rachel hung up the phone.

'If only I could get into his head.' She thought. However, she'd have to find him first, and then know what to actually say to him. That is if he doesn't kill her first. She had a feeling of trust for him though, and the thought came back to her head of what The Joker had said to her yesterday: "See you soon Miss. Dawes."

---------

Rachel's day went by slowly as thoughts kept running through her mind about the Joker and what he was up to. Possibly thinking of the next scheme against Gotham? Probably. She also thought about Harvey as well, and even visited his grave during her lunch break. She left some flowers for him. All she could do for him now was hope and pray that he was in a better place.

When Rachel came home in the evening and walked into her apartment, she could feel a small draft that made the hairs on her arms stand on end. She found that her window was slightly ajar, but didn't recall leaving it open, or even opening it before she got to work. Worried, she quickly checked every square inch around her home to only find nothing. She sighed in relief. Right after her search she decided to make a late dinner; spaghetti. As Rachel was cooking the tomato sauce, an unexpected knock on the door startled her. She glanced at her door for a few seconds, until she finally walked over to open it. There was nobody there, not that she could see, anyway. Rachel was a bit suspicious but shrugged as she walked back to continue stirring the tomato sauce.

After she had finally finished eating, Rachel decided to watch some TV before she went off to bed. She wasn't tired just yet. As she was watching her favourite TV show F.R.I.E.N.D.S, yes Friends, she heard a faint knock once again on the door. Rachel quickly turned off the TV and walked in- front of it.

"Who's there?" Her hoarse voice surprised her, so she cleared her throat and asked again after no answer. Thinking of the silly horror movies where the girl is always stupid enough to check, Rachel decided to leave it, no matter how curious she was. Instead, she went to the kitchen and grabbed a knife, just in case.

It had been another hour since the second knock on the door had occurred and Rachel was getting tired. She would slowly close her eyes but then spring her head back up to stop herself from falling asleep. Rachel finally decided that this was insane, so she got ready for bed. She had thought of phoning Bruce from time to time, but she didn't want to call and worry him if it was all because of some prank a kid was doing. The idea of the kid actually being the Joker was just too absurd. 'How could he know where I live?' Rachel thought. Sure, he could look her up in the phone book and find her address in there, but why would he go through all that trouble for her? Maybe he had some list of people to kill and she was on his top five. Rachel shivered at the thought and told herself not to think of it anymore because she was just freaking herself out. Instead she went into her warm bed and tried to forget about it until the morning.

Not having work so early the next day, Rachel had a chance to sleep in. She didn't wake up until around 9:30. She made herself coffee and read the newspaper. Rachel then thought about what happened last night. She put the paper down and looked at her front door across her apartment. She shook her head and continued reading the news. The next thing she had on her schedule was to pick up some milk. Grabbing the keys of her car and her coat, she unlocked her front door. Rachel put her hand on the door knob, almost hesitant to open it. When she finally did, her eyes trailed down to the ground where there was a white, long, rectangular shaped box just sitting there in front of her door.

**So this was chapter 3 and I hope you guys enjoyed it! I have so many ideas for this story and I can't wait to put them down in the chapters to come! Please review on what you think of it, and if you have any ideas I'll make sure to use them! Also, happy holiday's everyone!**


	4. Secret Admirer

Chapter Four

Secret Admirer

**First of all I'd like to thank you guys for the reviews once again! And don't worry about blabbering; you can blabber as much as you want! Reviews are the best part of writing the story because it gives me a reason to write knowing that you guys look forward to reading my chapters. This was a difficult chapter to write and I had to keep changing a lot of things until I was finally happy with it. I'm still not sure if I like this chapter or not but I'll let you guys be the judge of that. Hope you enjoy!**

Rachel stared at the box, knowing that whoever had been knocking on her door the night before had left it there for her. She picked it up slowly and brought it inside, shutting the door with her foot. Rachel walked to her kitchen table and placed it on it's the surface. She slowly opened the lid and her eyes lit up in astonishment. Not knowing what to expect, but of all things that it could have been, there sat a single red rose surrounded by white tissue paper. Beside it sat a small card, around the length of her pinkie. She opened it up and it read: 'From your secret admirer.' Rachel smiled as she picked up the rose to smell it. 'It must be from Bruce,' she thought. After placing the rose in a small vase, she picked up the phone to call Bruce. Alfred answered.

"Well hello, Miss!" Alfred was pleased to hear her voice.

"Hello Alfred, is Bruce there?" Rachel asked anxiously. The more she thought of Bruce as the one giving her the rose, the more she thought of how romantic it was.

"Yes, one moment," Alfred brought the phone to Bruce. "It's Rachel."

Bruce took the phone, excited to hear from her. "Hello Rachel, I'm not in trouble am I?" Bruce laughed as he was only joking.

"It depends, you sure gave me a scare last night," Rachel giggled.

"Last night?" Bruce's voice toned down into a very confused and curious one.

Rachel faltered a bit and also grew confused, "Yes, the rose. Were you not the one who left it at my door?"

There was a silence on the phone for a moment. "No," Bruce finally said, "Rachel?"

Rachel lost her voice; she didn't know what to say.

"Rachel…?" Bruce spoke again, "You've been seeing someone? I didn't know, but if you're happy then I'm happy for you," Bruce spoke fast, evident that he was lying.

"What? No," Rachel cleared her tracks, making sure to let him know that it wasn't another man, "I've got to go, I'll talk to you later."

"Wait! Rachel!" Bruce yelled out, but she hung up the phone.

Rachel scratched her head and stared at the rose once again. 'If it wasn't Bruce, then who was it?' she thought to herself. Her mind raced, thinking of the Joker. She didn't want to believe it was him.

Everyday after she had received her rose, she would wake up and leave her apartment only to find another box on the ground containing a single rose. By the sixth day she got disturbed to the point where she would rip up each rose that was brought to her. Bruce would call her sometimes and ask what was wrong because he could tell she was lying each time he asked about the rose.

At one point in time he asked if she would go to dinner with him to talk. At first she said no, but after he convinced her they decided to go on the twelfth which was the day they would both be free from any other plans or work.

When the twelfth day had arrived, she had also received another rose, but this time a card was placed in the box with it. Rachel read it out loud.

"You've received the twelfth rose; I think we should meet, don't you?"

Rachel shivered when she read 'I think we should meet.' A small smiley face was poorly drawn underneath the writing. The news was on in the background, and she overheard the reporter talking which caught her attention.

"It's been twelve days now since the Joker has escaped from jail. Is that the last we'll see of him? Or is he planning something? Keep your eyes peeled and please contact the police for any sign of the Joker."

Rachel's mouth dropped open. 'It's been twelve days since the Joker has escaped from jail.' That line finally brought her back to Earth and she realized that it WAS the Joker sending her the roses. Rachel started to panic, afraid that the Joker would show his painted face to her. She was glad to be going to dinner with Bruce tonight, that way she could tell him what she was keeping from him for so long.

Rachel got dressed in her formal wear gown. It was a long fitted red dress with a V cut around her neck. A gold chain wrapped around her waist as a finishing touch. Leaving her apartment she decided to go early. Being in the apartment only scared her more and thought that it would be safest to be with a crowd of people in a restaurant.

As Rachel was walking towards her car after leaving the apartment, she suddenly heard a noise that sounded as if a garbage can had fallen over. Rachel starter to scurry her way to the car, her heals tapping the ground until she stopped in her tracks. She heard a laugh behind her.

"Leaving so soon beautiful?" A voice spoke.

Rachel spun around to see a figure in the shadows. It walked closer to her into the light of the moon. The Joker's painted face appeared, showing his wide grin. Rachel placed her hand over her mouth and backed away to her car.

"What do you want?!" She shouted.

The Joker took slow steps towards her, talking as he did. "Did you like the flowers?" The Joker licked his lips.

"I tore them up," Rachel told him with fury, "Why did you send them to me?" Rachel's eyes were filled with questioning.

"You interest me, Miss. Dawes," The Joker smacked his red painted lips; his voice was in a low tone.

"Why, why do I interest you?" Rachel asked as she slowly backed off until her back hit against the car, disallowing her to go any further.

"Since our last…little meeting…you called me 'clown boy' which really…amused me. People don't amuse me very often." The Joker said taking out his knife. The Joker was so close to her that Rachel could feel his breath upon her. Rachel exhaled loudly as she saw the blade.

"Shh," The Joker whispered, placing the cold steel against her cheek, and then sliding it to her lips.

"You are beautiful," He smiled.

Suddenly Rachel kneed him in the groin and he bent over laughing.

"I like it when you fight back," He spoke over his laughs.

Rachel took out her keys from her purse, only getting her wrist grabbed by the Joker.

"I think you're just a little bit curious about me too. I think we're in the. Same. Boat!" The Joker gave a wide grin.

"Think all you want, but I'm not!" Rachel lied, trying to get her wrist free from the Joker's grip.

"Then why don't you call the cops?" The Joker replied sharply.

"Give me a phone and I'll call!" Rachel yelled.

"Hmmm," The Joker looked around and spotted a payphone. He pulled Rachel towards it and put a quarter in the slot, then picked up the receiver and handed it to Rachel. "I put in the money, which leaves you to dial." The Joker smirked.

Rachel put the phone to her ear. She pushed in the 'nine' button but started to think. One side of her wondered what if this was a game? She didn't want more cops to get hurt. The other side told her that the Joker was right. As crazy as it sounds, she was curious about the Joker. Rachel hung up the phone and sighed.

The Joker laughed. "I proved. My. Point. But I hope you know that you wasted my quarter." The Joker said comically.

"It was just a quarter," Rachel spoke bluntly, not knowing what else to say.

"You're a lawyer. You should know that, uh, every little. Bit. Helps. One word of advice though," The Joker smacked his lips, "When a man calls you beautiful…never kick them in between the legs, it's an insult."

"Not when you have a knife to my face!" Rachel rolled her eyes and the Joker finally let her go. Her wrist was coloured red by his handprint. The Joker lifted his brow, forming the creases on his forehead.

"As much as I'd like to…_stay_, I've got places to go to, things to do, and people to, uh, meet." The Joker looked at her gown and knew she must be going somewhere with someone, "Have a horrible evening, Miss. Dawes," The Joker ran his hand through his green curly hair to get it out of his face and laughed as he turned the corner of the building out of Rachel's site.

Rachel leaned her back against the wall, her emotions overwhelmed her. She wanted to cry, scream, and be happy that she was still alive in one piece. Rachel couldn't believe what happened. She had the chance to lock him away once again, possibly for good, but didn't take it. "What is wrong with me?" She moaned, placing her hand on her forehead. Suddenly realizing that she would be late, Rachel quickly got into her car and drove to the restaurant.

When Rachel arrived at the restaurant, she asked to be seated under the reserved table with the last name Wayne. As Rachel was being brought to her table, she could see Bruce sitting anxiously by himself waiting for her to show up.

"I thought you stood me up," Bruce smiled when Rachel came into his view and sat down. A sigh of relief grew over him. "What happened?"

"Oh I-uh…" Rachel's reason to go to dinner with Bruce was to see him, but mainly to tell him about her admirer who was actually the Joker. After her conversation with him in the parking lot, Rachel held her breath and told a lie, deciding not to tell him, "I got stuck in traffic." Rachel scratched the back of her head, hoping Bruce would believe her white lie.

"Traffic? That's weird, when I got here it-" Bruce was abruptly interrupted by a waiter.

"Have you two decided what you would like to drink?" His voice and his way about him seemed strange, but Rachel quickly forgot about it as she was relieved.

'Saved by the bell' Rachel thought. When you tell a lie, more lies have to follow up on that one, and sooner or later if asked enough questions, she would be caught in the lie, which is exactly why Rachel hated doing it. For this reason, however, she had to.

"Margarita please," Rachel smiled looking up at the waiter.

"And I'll have bourbon on the rocks," Bruce nodded.

As soon as the waiter wrote down their orders and left, Rachel quickly changed the subject in case Bruce decided to bring up their conversation before they were interrupted.

"So how are you?"

"I'm doing better, my bullet wound is healing up pretty nicely," Bruce smiled showing his brilliant white teeth, "What about you? You've seemed distant lately, like you're always in a hurry."

"My work…it's just been hectic, so many files being piled up on my desk. It's nice to have a break for once, and to see you again." Rachel tired to sound as casual as possible. She wasn't lying however when she said she was glad to see Bruce. Rachel still felt for him, and if there was a chance for them to get back together again, she would most likely take that opportunity when she is ready, and Harvey grew to be just a shadow in the back of her mind.

Before Bruce could speak, once again they were disrupted by the waiter bringing their drinks. "Here you are," The waiter placed the drinks in front of them; "You will be able to order your food shortly."

"Thank you," Both Rachel and Bruce said with appreciation.

"Now, where were we?" Bruce smiled while taking a drink of his bourbon, the ice clinked into each other against the glass, "I believe it was where you said how you were glad to see me again?"

Rachel chuckled with admiration. Bruce always knew how to make her laugh no matter the situation.

"Yes, I'm very happy to see you again, Bruce Wayne," Rachel said, still chuckling.

Bruce smiled, but it suddenly disappeared. "Tell me the truth Rachel, are you okay?"

"What?" Rachel was surprised by this absurd question.

"Since that morning when you called me about that rose, you've been acting strange. I'd like to know why."

"It's nothing, I had received a rose and that's all."

"Nothing else happened after that?" Bruce wasn't sure if he should believe her or not.

"No, nothing else. You know, you should stop being so worried about me Bruce, I'm a grown adult who can take care of herself," Rachel smiled to let Bruce know that she didn't mean it to offend him.

"Alright, I'll promise not to bother you again on one condition."

"What's that?"

"Tell me when there's something wrong, okay?" Bruce placed his hand on hers as a friendly gesture.

"Okay," Rachel nodded with a smirk, "I'll do that."

The waiter walked up to them once again, holding out his pen and notepad to write down their orders. Unexpectedly the building started to vibrate, and the lights flickered several times. People started to scream for a moment, but stopped when everything was calm again. However, they didn't continue to eat but instead talked to each other, wondering what all of that was about. Taken by surprise, Rachel was grabbed by the waiter, pointing a gun to her head. She screamed followed by other screams at the sight of the gun. Bruce stood up immediately.

"Let her go!" Bruce yelled.

The waiter backed up. "Sit back down or the woman dies!"

"Ah now now now, be nice." Someone came up behind them. Rachel shivered at the familiar voice.

The Joker came into view, and Bruce's eyes grew wide with anger.

"You!" Bruce pointed, his fists clutched.

The Joker looked down at himself, and then looked back up, "Well it is me, isn't it? Hmmm…"

"Let her GO!" Bruce yelled again.

"Oh okay!" The Joker laughed, and then turned serious. "Do you really think I would just let. Her. Go?" The Joker smacked his lips.

"What do you want?!" Bruce grew frustrated.

"Hmmm…what do I want? What. Do. I. _Want_? The Joker stroked his chin, and then glanced at Rachel. She gave him a foul stare. "I want you to tell her how you…_feel_."

"What?!" Bruce and Rachel said at once, both shocked and confused. "That's what all the commotion was about?" Bruce asked.

"Well I uh, had fun on the way up." the Joker laughed.

"If I tell her, you'll leave us alone? No strings attached?" Bruce asked, still confused.

"Do I look like a puppet master?" The Joker said sharply and continued, "Tell her how you feel, NOW!" The Joker had pure anger in his voice. Rachel was confused about how the Joker was acting. It was almost as if he had no reason for his appearance, so he made one up.

"I…I love her." Bruce blurted out, almost seeming happy to find a reason to tell how he feels, although this wasn't the most romantic way to do it.

Rachel looked at Bruce with a slight smile. Suddenly the Joker backhanded him across the face, allowing him to fall from his chair for catching him off guard. The Joker started to laugh and mock him. He looked over at Rachel.

"Did I make your evening horrible, Miss. Dawes?" The Joker liked his lips. "Let her go!" he yelled. The man who was the waiter pushed her to the floor, and the two of them ran off.

Rachel crawled towards Bruce who was still confused on the floor. His lip was bleeding.

"Are you alright?" Rachel asked him in worriment.

Bruce didn't answer her but instead stood up and took her hand to help her up as well. He then started to walk hastily to leave.

"Where are you going?" Rachel called after him.

"To take care of a few things." Bruce had no expression in his voice.

"Don't go!" Rachel yelled but he had already left. She knew exactly what Bruce was about to do: become Batman once again. He didn't want to let the Joker go, not after this. For all the times the clown had gotten under his skin, this was the worst.

**Well that's chapter four. I hope you guys enjoyed it! Confused about the Joker's reason for appearance near the end? I hope you are, because there's a reason for that whole scene. Until next time! **


	5. Batman Revealed

_**Okay so here is chapter 5. I enjoyed writing this a lot more I took my time. But anyways, hope its good! I have many good scenes for this story and if you guys ever want to give any ideas I'll gladly consider them! **_

Chapter Five

Batman Revealed

The Joker and a few of his clowns working for him were running past several buildings until they finally rested to catch a few breaths in an ally way. The Joker's heart beat rapidly in excitement, and his hands trembled as he tried to keep them still. Besides the Batman having speed and strength, there was one thing that the Joker possessed much more which he didn't: Intelligence.

"Can you tell us what we are doing exactly?" One of the clowns spoke breathlessly.

"_We_…are bringing the batman back out of his _cave_," The Joker licked his lips.

"How?"

"Let's just say…I think I know who the Bat. Man is."

From many encounters before with Batman, the Joker had noticed that each one ended the same way: Batman always trying to rescue poor little Rachel. Especially the night when Bruce had thrown a party for Harvey Dent. The Joker almost believed that Harvey was the Batman by just the way he threw himself at her. He assumed that they both had some type of relationship, and the roses were bait. The Joker planned everything out, knowing exactly what was going to happen, and he was always right. That's why he never calls it a 'plan' because everything always falls into place without lifting a finger. That was one of Joker's many gifts. He knew Rachel would phone Batman thinking it was him who sent the roses, and at some point or time be meeting some place just because they're such "good friends." Joker gagged at the thought. Waiting was just his next priority. Once he saw Rachel in her fancy dress in the parking lot, the Joker knew that she was going somewhere formal. So, pretending to leave, he watched Rachel get into her car and followed her in his van with a few of the clowns who worked for him. Once they arrived, the Joker killed one of the waiters and "borrowed" the outfit and name tag. A clown named Dopey changed into that and was used as a spy. The Joker knew the perfect way to get under Bruce's skin, and if Bruce Wayne was truly the Batman, he wouldn't dare hold in that much embarrassment without a fight. The Joker had purposely left the building so abruptly just so Bruce would have time in between to dress into his bat uniform. That is, of course, if he was in fact the Batman. The Joker also had some fun on the side with Rachel; taunting her with all his charms. He would get into that more later; his main concern right now was revealing the Batman.

"What if the plan backfires?" Dopey asks, thinking this was a waste of time.

"It won't! Just keep looking into the sky for any sign of a, uh, giant bat," The Joker licked the inside of his mouth.

Sirens started to ring out through the streets and the clowns were getting concerned.

"We've got to get out of here!" A clown named Happy yelled.

"Move and you die! You'll all die! Wait. For. Him," The Joker spat, still looking into the sky.

Suddenly a black figure glided behind a building, which caught the Joker's eye. "Theeerrreee'sss the Bat. Man. Brucey Brucey Brucey Wayne," The Joker laughed in excitement, "You've got nothing to hide."

The Joker slowly crept past the wall of a building towards the direction of the Batman. The clowns walked cautiously behind him. A swoop of air caught their attention, but suddenly came into silence once again. The Joker expected Batman to appear as if from no where, so he kept fully aware of his surroundings.

"Now where did ya go?" The Joker asked himself, "Where did the Ba-"

Unexpectedly a clown behind the rest of them screamed and a shuffle was heard, then quietness. The Joker and the rest of the crew looked behind them to the sound of the noise but there was nothing in site. The Joker laughed and danced around in amusement.

"Where the hell did he go?!" Happy yelled in distress.

Suddenly Batman dropped down in front of them, punching Happy in the face. His fist flew at him faster then a snake could strike. Happy hit the ground hard; his faced was bashed in. Dopey then tried a shot at grabbing him in a head lock but Batman dodged his hands, spun around, and kicked Dopey in the back, making him fly across the ground. A few more clowns pounced at him but the Batman just took out his blades from his wrists and sliced them down. They quickly got back up and limped off along with the rest of them. Batman looked up; all that was left was the Joker and his grin.

"Let me wipe off that grin for you," Batman said in anger.

"Why do that, Bruce?" The Joker's smile grew wider, proud of his discovery, and excited to see how Batman would react.

Batman snarled, "What? How did you know?!"

"How did I not know? Batman hasn't come out of his cage for twelve days since our last…little meeting. But when suddenly the Joker, me, gets Bruce's nerves tingling because he was embarrassed in front his 'lover' on the same day Batman comes out of his _cave_, well uh…I don't think that's just a weird, and might I add wonderful coincidence. Really, Bruce, do you think I'm. That. Thick? I'm insulted."

"No, you just won't be living to tell the tale," Bruce gritted his teeth.

"Well I've told you, and so far you strike me as someone whhooo isss…all talk but no _kill_," The Joker smacked his lips.

Batman bolted towards the Joker who was just waiting for him to use all his force upon him. He grabbed the Joker by the vest and pushed him up against the wall. Batman's ears were filled with the Joker's laughs.

"Besides, Batman has his one…simple rule that he cannot break."

"I don't think that rule matters now," Bruce spoke in his low voice, "Now that Batman has become the Dark Knight."

"Well in that case, neither is that voice that you put on," Bruce tightened his grip and slammed the Joker into the wall once again, only having a chuckle as a respond. The Joker cleared his throat. "Society sure put a toll on you…made you believe that you killed those five people. You can hide in the shadows all you want…in you're bat cave…but sooner or later it's just gunna come right back up to haunt you." The Joker bit his scars, and then licked his lips.

Batman sneered at the Joker with disgust and threw him hard on the ground. The clown laughed as he arched his back on the ground, his arms swung around and his fingers were stiff like claws. Tired of this act, Batman jumped on the Joker, blowing his face a few times until it bled ubiquitously. The Joker coughed while still chuckling under his breath. His tongue slid across his lower lip, wiping off any blood that could be settled on its surface.

"We're the same, you and me," The Joker spoke deeply in his throat and his gags, "And when you finally…realize that, I'll be having myself a uh, a very good day."

"That day will never come!" Batman shouted at the Jokers face.

The Joker lifted up his hand and wiped his index finger across his face, "You just…spat. On. Me."

Batman lifted him up once again from his collar, "And I can't wait until the day finally comes where you won't take everything as a joke."

The Joker smiled but was suddenly thrown across the ally way, meeting his head with a dumpster. He looked around and everything became fuzzy. The Joker looked up, and saw the black shadow of Batman disappear into the night, and then everything went to darkness.

----------

Rachel arrived home at around 8:25pm. She had not eaten yet, and her stomach growled like a lion. Rachel could not sit and eat at the restaurant after what happened, her worriment of Bruce wouldn't allow it. However, when she came home Rachel's stomach had instantly overpowered her mind, and all she needed now was food to satisfy her. The thought of what Joker would do to Bruce, or even what Bruce would do to the Joker kept coming back to her as she heated up some TV dinner. The thought of Bruce dead by the prince of crime made Rachel's stomach turn, and the thought of Bruce breaking his one rule also lurked in the back of her mind as well. At least that's what Rachel thought, anyway. Frankly, what Bruce did was very ill-advised of him, and Rachel did not like it. She was starting to believe that Bruce no longer needed Batman, and they could finally be together, but his act tonight did not convince her of that anymore. He would always need Batman just like she thought he would. The only thing that has changed was that Rachel was going to marry Harvey, but now that he is gone, what is her excuse now to not be with Bruce? Rachel wanted to be with him, but not when Bruce goes out every night in a costume and she would always be worrying about him all the time. Rachel sighed in annoyance as she took her TV dinner out of the microwave.

It didn't take long for Rachel to finish her dinner. Her stomach finally stopped upsetting her, and she lied down on her couch with a pillow on top of her. With her eyes slowly opening and closing continuously, Rachel found herself falling asleep. Suddenly she was fully awake by a knock on the door. 'Not again!' She thought. Unafraid this time, Rachel got up and walked towards the door. She placed her hand on the handle and opened it to a friendly face. Rachel sighed in relief.

"Bruce! Are you okay?" Rachel moved to the side to allow him to come in.

"Yes, I just had to take care of a few things." Bruce placed himself on Rachel's couch, and she sat down beside him.

"I know, you told me that at the restaurant. What happened?"

"I-uh…I caught up with the Joker. He knows."

"He knows?" Rachel's voice was displeased.

Bruce nodded, "He planned his whole appearance just so he could finally get his answer, and he got it. He now knows I'm the Batman. I beat him up, though. I left him lying in front of a dumpster in an ally."

"Why did you leave him there?!" Rachel yelled in frustration, "You could have brought him back to jail!"

"How, exactly? I've got the cops chasing after Batman, I can't just say 'here's the Joker, have a nice day!' and leave without getting arrested."

"Oh…I forgot about that…" Rachel's voice trailed off and she looked down towards the floor.

"I'm just satisfied that the Joker got what he deserved." Bruce continued, "For now anyway."

Rachel wasn't sure if she should mention the whole fact about Bruce never needing Batman anymore, but she kept to herself.

"I meant what I said though," Bruce spoke after a few minutes of silence.

"About what?" Rachel knew what he was getting at, and right now she didn't want to hear it. A part of her was exceedingly mad at him for doing what he did.

"That I love you, I always will."

Rachel sighed and looked straight into Bruce's eyes. For some reason she started comparing them with the Joker's. Bruce's eyes were warm but so predictable. The Joker's were dark and mysterious. Rachel wondered to herself why on Earth she started to compare them or even have the Joker in her mind right at the moment Bruce was telling her that he loved her. Rachel liked the Joker's sense of humour. He was a mystery man to her. Rachel cursed at herself for even thinking those things. She quickly erased the Joker's twisted face from her mind and came back to reality. Here was this good looking man, Bruce, telling her exactly how he felt, yet Rachel didn't feel right. Was it Harvey still eating away at her? She didn't know. All that Rachel knew right now was that she was being put on the spot and she didn't like it or know what to say, so all she could do was smile.

"I know how much you don't like getting put on the spot," Bruce spoke coincidentally after Rachel was just thinking of it, "I don't expect an answer or reply from you. I'd just like you to think about it."

Rachel was pleased at how well Bruce knew her. She spoke softly, "I will."

Bruce smiled and kissed her on the cheek. Rachel knew it was only a friendly gesture and it didn't mean anything, so she didn't freak out and have hundreds of thoughts moving through her tired brain at once. However, she did feel warmth when he kissed her. Bruce stood up and walked towards the door.

"Sorry about the dinner getting ruined, by the way." He said before he left.

"Don't worry about it," Rachel smiled with relief. At least now she wouldn't have to be so angry at him after he had apologized for leaving her at the restaurant.

----------

The next morning Rachel went straight to the TV to watch the morning news. Everything from 'The Joker is back!' to everything that happened the night before, and lastly, a picture of a black figure in the night sky.

"Is it possible that Batman is back, too? Gotham will have a hard time tracking these two criminals down…" The reporter spoke.

Rachel scoffed. If only she could get people to believe that Batman was not a villain and still have a good name for Harvey, but how? Rachel turned off the TV and bit her lip in thought.

The rest of her day was spent at her job, working hard as usual. Gordon had talked to her once in a while, confused at Batman's appearance. Gordon and his family are the only ones besides Rachel who actually know that Batman is innocent against the five deaths that Harvey had created.

"I'm sorry Rachel, but if we were to ever catch the Batman, I need you to know that I have to go by that, even when he isn't guilty. This is what needs to happen." Gordon explained to Rachel.

"I know…" Rachel replied.

There seemed to be no way around it, and Rachel knew Gordon would not be able to help her. If he only knew who Batman was, maybe then Gordon would help her? But Rachel knew she could never tell anyone and hopefully the Joker won't spill the beans either.

When Rachel got home from work the sky was completely dark. She reached to her door and took her keys from her purse. Once Rachel pulled them out, they slipped out of her hand onto the floor. She unexpectedly heard a laugh from behind her. Rachel spun around in fear only to see a man standing in front of his door. He was talking on the phone as he opened his apartment door and walked inside his home, leaving Rachel out in the hall in paranoia. Relief came over her as she sighed to try and pick up her keys off the floor once again. Rachel could not believe how distressed she was. It felt like the Joker was controlling her life because she now had to watch out for any sign of him to come out of nowhere to get her. Rachel placed her key into the lock until she heard a click. She opened the door and sighed once again. Suddenly some force pushed Rachel further into the apartment and she heard the door slam shut behind her. She screamed at the blow of strength that was put upon her. Almost falling over, Rachel turned around to see the Joker standing there, pulling his hair out of his face.

"Hiiii," The Joker gave a sly smile.


	6. Confused Minds

**I've noticed how little there has been between Rachel and Joker and I'm sorry. But don't worry! There is a lot of that in this chapter. A lot of other things happen in this chapter too which I hope you guys enjoy. This is my longest chapter so far. By the way, I hope you guys had a great Christmas! And Happy New Year! Please review, I'd like to know your thoughts!**

Chapter Six

Confused Minds

_Twenty-six hours ago…_

Bruce left Rachel's apartment building with a smile on his face. He couldn't stop thinking about her. If only he could have her in his arms once again he would be the happiest man in the world. Bruce knew it would take time, however, but time was good to have so he could think things over. As he walked towards his Lamborghini, Bruce thought about how he still knew there was something going on with Rachel that she would not tell him about. He wanted to understand, but he didn't want to press on about it if she didn't want to talk about her problems. Bruce could only hope that he was just overreacting. He hopped into his car and turned the ignition and the engine roared to life. Curiously Bruce drove by the ally where he left the Joker. He still could not believe that the damn clown figured out his secret. Bruce pulled into the ally way to allow his headlights to shine brightly into ever dark corner. Bruce peered around until he found the dumpster sitting by itself. There was no Joker lying there like he thought there would be. Bruce became frustrated. 'How could he have got up already? He was knocked out cold when I left him,' he thought. Bruce grew worried. He knew that the Joker would get up sooner or later, but he didn't expect him to get up that quick. Bruce couldn't deal with that at the moment though, he needed to get home and do a few things.

Once Bruce arrived home to his penthouse, Alfred greeted him.

"Good evening Master Wayne. How was dinner with Rachel?"

Bruce walked by him and sat on his white sofa. "It was enjoyable, until the Joker came and showed his ugly face." After a pause Bruce spoke again, "He knows I'm Batman."

"You're joking!" Alfred stayed standing up beside Bruce.

"I wish I was…but I've got to do something before he tells anyone."

"Well of course you should." Alfred agreed.

"I'll start tomorrow night." Bruce could not believe the situation he was put in. For everyone to know he was Batman was the last thing he wanted, and now the Joker would finally get his way.

The next morning Bruce woke up early. He had a lot of things that needed to be done. The first thing was to try and find the Joker. Where to start seemed an impossible task, however.

As soon as the moon showed itself and the night sky appeared, Bruce got ready in his Batman suit and had thousands of scattering thoughts pricking threw his mind. They were quickly interrupted when the doorbell suddenly rang.

"I'll get it, Master Wayne," Alfred spoke out.

Bruce was in the kitchen on the other side of the penthouse and he could not hear who it could have possibly been. Deep down he wished it was Rachel, to tell him finally what was wrong. But of course he wished to hard, and Alfred walked up to him with an envelope.

"A man came to the door handing me this. He said it was urgent that you opened it." Alfred gave the envelope to Bruce.

They were both curious as to what it was, and Bruce opened it slowly but what was inside was no letter. Instead a CD lay inside waiting to be watched.

"Strange," Alfred broke the silence.

Without saying a word Bruce placed it into his DVD. Bruce was filled with curiosity, but he knew that it wasn't something to want to see because of how odd all these circumstances were. Without warning the black screen of the TV disappeared and a room came into view. Suddenly the Joker stood in front of he camera, smiling. He was badly wounded, so it must have been last night when he recorded it. Both Bruce and Alfred were in shock and finally the Joker started to speak.

"Hello, Batman. Or should I call you Bruce?" The Joker laughed abruptly, "As you know, last night was, uh, very…un-for-tu-nate for you. I have learned of your little _secret _and your now wondering what I'm going to do with all that valuable information, hmm?" The Joker licked his lips. "I was going to tell everyone about my discovery but I realized that that would be tattling so…I came up with a better idea. I want you to turn yourself in and let everyone know in Gotham that you're the Batman. Here's the twist. If you don't, then your building of Wayne Enterprises will blow into a million pieces, along with the people inside who will be cooked a little too crispy," The Joker cackled and grabbed the camera and placed it right up in front of his face, "Oh, and did I mention the love of your life will be there in the front row seats? So what will you give up, your job at Wayne Enterprises and the lives of others, or your job as the Batman? Hurry up and decide. You have until midnight tonight to make your decision. You know what they say, coal under pressure produces diamonds." The Joker's sickening laugh echoed into the camera until it finally shut off.

Bruce continued to look at the black screen and Alfred looked down at him in shock, waiting for a response from the very infuriated Bruce.

---------

_Back to Rachel and the Joker…_

"What are you doing here?!" Rachel yelled, grabbing a knife from the kitchen.

"Ah ta ta ta, play nice…or play mean...I'd en-joy that a lot more!" The Joker laughed.

Rachel held her knife out with her shaky hand, "I'm going to ask you again. What the HELL are you doing here?" Her voice was calmer and strict.

"Why so full with anger, Miss. Dawes?"

Rachel stared at the Joker's face. There was dry blood mixed with the paint. It was obvious that he hadn't cleaned himself off since after what happened last night. The Joker limped as he walked around Rachel and into the living room, never keeping his eyes off of her. His eyes looked right through her like daggers, and even when he spoke to her she could feel sharp needles poking at her soft skin. The Joker walking around her apartment was an adrenaline rush, and when he took out his knife and tapped it repeatedly on his left hand like a drum, Rachel's heart pounded faster in her chest as she began to panic. The Joker let out a sinister smile. If there was any goodness inside of him, it was deep in the pit of his soul. Rachel wanted nothing more then to show its true colors.

"Maybe it's because you're in my apartment waving a knife around?" Rachel sneered.

The Joker gestured to her hand, "You're holding a knife, too, Miss. Dawes."

"That's for self-defence! What? You think I'm going to trust you?"

"As much as I'd like to kill you, I'm starting to have too much fun with you…right now." The Joker smacked his lips and then cleared his throat, "I'm here for a few…_reasons_."

"Oh? Is that all?" Rachel asked sarcastically, still holding out the knife. She wondered what was so different with her then with other women the Joker has met. 'What is it that's so 'fun' about me that over powers his want to kill me?' Rachel thought.

The Joker laughed at her remark. He liked her mockery. "As you know, I've learned something about, uh, Bruce. He's probably _told_ you, hmm? Knowing how 'close'" The Joker air quoted, "You guys…arreee."

"Yes, he has told me. I'd like to know how you figured it out."

The Joker staggered slowly towards Rachel. Every step created shivers down her spine. With Rachel still holding out the knife, the Joker stopped right in front of it and smiled. He knew she wouldn't kill him, only if he stepped over the line but that also went visa versa. If he ever harassed Rachel long enough, she would most likely try and stab him in the chest by surprise. That's exactly what the Joker wanted. He loved getting to people's heads, and he knew exactly how to do it.

"It wasn't hard," The Joker finally spoke, "Just the way Batman threw himself to you whenever you were…in danger was enough. Y'know, Bruce practically gave me the answer. He didn't even protest," The Joker licked his lips and then used both of his hands to pull away his undulating hair, "Too bad Harvey didn't know about you two. Hmm…maybe then that could've spared those five people's lives!" The Joker cackled.

Rachel had enough. Even though she wanted to help the Joker, she had a sudden urge to hurt him so he would shut up. Rachel stiffened her grip on the kitchen knife, but he was too quick for her. The Joker grabbed the knife from her hand and threw it across the room. The clatter of the knife hitting the wooden floor startled Rachel. He then seized both of her wrists behind her back and pushed her against the wall. Rachel could feel the Joker's chest press against her so she couldn't move. She started to cry in pain for her wrists.

"Now now, I'm not here to hurt you, but uh, if you keep going like this I might. Have. To." The Joker whispered softly into Rachel's ear.

Rachel felt the Joker's warm breath tickling her ear as her eyes shot down at the cold steel running up and down her left cheek. She tried to struggle free from his grasp but he was to strong for her.

"Please, if you're not then let me go." Rachel spoke under her sobs.

The Joker put away his pocket knife and looked at her. He hated Rachel Dawes. In all of his life he knew exactly what he wanted, everything was laid out for him. But ever since he talked to Rachel in the interrogation room, there was something about her he couldn't quite place. He growled under his breath that he couldn't kill her, not yet anyway. He was to confused at the moment to even know what he was doing.

Instead of letting her go, he placed her arms on both sides of her against the wall. Rachel was freaked out at the thought of what he would do. She breathed heavily in fear and anxiety. Startlingly the Joker moved his lips towards hers but stopped with only an inch apart. Rachel exhaled, getting ready for the plunge. The Joker's warm breath lay against her lips, and his noise rubbed gently against hers. Rachel could feel the dry paint itching at her skin. She was in a whirlwind of thoughts as her heart beat fast in her chest. He grabbed her hair suddenly with his right hand and Rachel screeched in pain.

"Beautiful Miss. Dawes…" The Joker patted Rachel's head, "I almost did something we both would have regretted. Don't provoke me again!" The Joker through her down to the ground.

"I didn't do anything to provoke you! You did it all yourself!" Rachel yelled at him.

Rachel stayed sitting on the floor, continuously rubbing her throbbing wrists. She was confused in thought, wondering what the hell had just happened. How could the Joker blame her for what he did? As far as Rachel was concerned, he was just some crazy clown that put the fault on everyone else if something didn't go right.

"Why did you do that?" Rachel asked as the Joker looking down at her.

Without giving any answer to Rachel he picked her up by the forearm and dragged her to the door. The Joker didn't have an answer for her. He knew he was going to use Rachel as a pawn to get Bruce to lean more towards turning himself in and letting himself be known as the Batman. There was a chance that Rachel could get killed, but that was a chance that the Joker had to make. Besides, why worry about? She's just like everyone else. There was a part of the Joker that wanted to keep her alive for his sake of amusement, but wanted to be sick if he even thought of keeping her from dying. He wished he could kill her right that second so he could get it over with; gouge her in the gut and hear her scream for mercy. The Joker was enjoying the harassment upon Rachel, but Batman was more important to him right now. He couldn't go back anyway; he was always a man of his word.

Rachel was giving the Joker a hard time as he dragged her to the front door. She was aggravated that he wouldn't talk to her even when she asked where they were going. The Joker couldn't take the chance of getting caught because of her screams, so he hit Rachel in the back of her head with his elbow hard enough to knock her out cold. The Joker looked down at her motionless body with his head tilted to the left. He picked her up over his shoulder and carried her to the van where other clowns waited for his arrival.

---------

Rachel woke up in a daze. Everything was blurry as she rubbed her eyes and tried to focus. There was yelling and screaming all around her, and an occasional gun shot which frightened her. Rachel's head was throbbing in pain and she tried to place her hand on it but could not. Her hands were tied up against the back of the chair that she was sitting on. Rachel's eyes finally started to work again and everything came into view. She was in an empty office; papers where scattered around and everything was out of place. A computer lay beside her, its monitor was smashed up and a spark flickered from it occasionally. Rachel glanced over to the door which was shut. All the windows were covered by blinds so she could not look through them. Red and blue lights were flashing through one of the windows. Cops had already arrived as she was knocked out. Suddenly Rachel found herself not alone. In the back corner of the room stood a tall man with a clown mask. He held a gun in his right hand. Rachel screamed for help.

"Shh, lady, no one can hear you." The clown laughed.

"Where am I?!" Rachel demanded; her wrists were hurting once again.

"You're in an office," The clown smiled at his intelligent answer.

Rachel rolled her eyes and scoffed, "I'm not in the mood for mockery, now where am I?!"

The clown plugged his ears from her loud screaming and stared at her frustratingly. "Whoa calm down lady, you're in an office at Wayne Enterprises."

Rachel was taken aback by his answer. So many questions ran threw her head at once that she could not handle. She felt as if she were going to have an anxiety attack. The last thing she remembered was being dragged by the Joker out of her apartment and now she was here. Rachel started to shuffle around in her chair in hopes that she could get free, totally forgetting about the man behind her. With no control she began to cry and tears ran down her cheeks.

"Hey, stop crying. I'm not good around crying." The clown spoke, taking away the silence.

"Why am I here?!" Rachel screamed over her sobs, "Why of all places?"

Suddenly the doorknob started to rattle and Rachel and the clown both looked over at the direction of noise. The door opened to show Joker's face. He had excitement in his eyes at the chaos he was creating.

"Get out," The Joker told the clown, watching him until her left and shut the door.

Rachel clenched her teeth with anger as she watched the Joker take a seat in front of her. He leaned his upper body towards her as he used his elbows for support on his legs.

"Finally awake, Miss. Dawes?" The Joker observed her. As soon as she looked at him he smiled.

"No, I'm still asleep," Rachel sneered. All she wanted to do right now was physically hurt him like he did to her, but the ropes which tied Rachel together wouldn't allow her to, so she could only visualize it. For some reason the sight of the Joker surprisingly helped her calm down. She was unfamiliar with the clown that was in the office only moments ago doing God knows what while she was knocked out.

The Joker laughed and pointed his index finger at her, "I like your sarcasm."

Ignoring his comment Rachel spoke in annoyance. "Last thing I remember was getting hit in the head," She snapped.

The Joker leaned back into his seat and scratched the back of his head, looking up at the ceiling, "You were, uh, difficult to shut up." The Joker looked back down at her and smacked his lips while clearing his throat.

"Why am I here?" Rachel's tone was aggravating as she didn't keep her eyes off of the Joker's.

The Joker seemed almost hesitant to answer her, but he quickly laughed to cover it up. "You're here because you are a part of my…_experiment_. Don't worry; I'm sure you'll live." The Joker laughed once again which was getting very annoying as Rachel had very little patience.

"What do you mean you're sure I'll live?"

"It's all up to what Batman decides now. It's either you and this building, or his identity. Let's see…this _building_ is due to blow up in fifty minutes."

"Why are you doing this?!" Rachel screamed in the Joker's face.

"Can you keep it down a bit? I have sensitive ears after all the explosions and gun shots I've heard over the years," The Joker's brow lowered as he studied Rachel's very displeased face, "Look at it this way…it's just like the whole rescuing the damsel in distress. Didn't you ever like those movies?" The Joker licked his lips.

"Not when it's real and I'm the damsel!" Rachel was squirming to get free once again but it only resulted with the ropes tightening around her already red, bruised wrists.

The Joker watched Rachel fidget in her chair as he persisted with his speech. "Well what do you expect when I'm, when I'm the bad guy? I'm the one who puts you in distress, and the bat is the one to…rescue you so to speak."

"You're right, the Joker did put me in distress, but what about the man behind the paint?" Rachel questioned with a calming voice of anticipation with the hope that the Joker might change his mind. Rachel looked up at the Joker's face, her eyes softened by her concern. She waited for him to look up at her and respond, hoping he would see the sincerity in her eyes.

"Excuse me?" The Joker's tone of voice changed and he growled under his breath.

Rachel wasn't sure if what she said was the best approach, but she had to continue. She couldn't stop what she already started. "What's behind those scars? I know deep down, the person you were before any of that happened, I know you wouldn't harm all these people. You would let me go."

"Hmm…" The Joker hummed, "Are you always so sure about things, Miss. Dawes?" There was slight anger in his voice, but he tried not to let it out.

"I try." Rachel's voice was firm as she took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Don't do it again. Otherwise that will be the last time you think your so sure." The Joker's eyes twitched and Rachel noticed his hand slide out of his pocket. Suddenly the Joker glanced up at the clock on the wall behind Rachel.

"What?" Rachel became worried.

"Forty more minutes before this building goes sayonara." The Joker jumped up off his chair in exhilaration. "That sucks for you though," He laughed, "Don't worry, I'm sure Bruce will choose to check in at his very own cell and you can go free. We'll make sure to continue your therapy session later…if you live."

Rachel looked down to the floor, "I'm not to sure…" Her voice trailed off.

The Joker spoke sharply, "You just finished saying that you 'tried' to be sure about everything."

"Batman is everything to Bruce," Rachel started to cry. She wasn't sure if it was because she thought of her life being in danger, or the fact that it could be true that Bruce would put Batman before anything, including her. "Please, Joker…let me go," Rachel pleaded.

The Joker looked down at her feebleness, and then at her watery eyes. He felt like he wanted to gag. All he had to do was step out of that door and he'd be free from Rachel's misery. The Joker bit hard down inside his mouth to the point where it bled. However, he suddenly had an idea.

"I'll tell you what, if you can reach this before 12:00," The Joker placed one of his knives on a filing cabinet, "Then you'll be able to cut yourself free. If you happen to, uh, reach it; don't expect your next task to be so…_easy_." The Joker smacked his lips.

"Thank you," Rachel's voice was hoarse from all the recent yelling.

Unexpectedly the Joker grabbed her by the hair and Rachel screamed. "Don't. Ever. Thank me."

The Joker pushed over her chair and she fell to the ground. Rachel suddenly felt a massive pain shoot up her right arm that had hit the floor and she couldn't bare it. He stormed out of the room and slammed the door shut. The vibration of the door shook the remaining items on the shelves that circled above her on the walls and they fell to the floor.

Rachel was surprised at how angry the Joker became when she had thanked him. It just must have been proof of his weakness, perhaps. But now he has used her in one of his games, practically risking her life. Rachel couldn't think about that right now. Time was ticking away, and she had to get to that knife. Her first priority was getting the chair back up on its four legs.

Rachel pivoted herself to the right so her head was facing the desk. Luckily the rope had been tied halfway down her legs so she could move her feet a lot better then if they were tied from the ankles. Rachel knew she had to use all of her strength in the upper part of her body to get herself back up. As quickly as she could, Rachel pushed herself up, only making it halfway, and then falling hard on the floor once again. She moaned from the twinge of pain in her ribs. Rachel tried a few more times with no success. She suddenly felt like giving up. She thought about everything that had happened to her in the past month. The death of Harvey, the Joker, and Bruce, too. Rachel knew that Bruce would try and save her, but she also knew that Wayne Enterprises was too big to search every nook and cranny to find one single person. The cops wouldn't be helping him because Batman was on the wanted list as well. Bruce was on his own. Rachel grew frustrated and had the sudden urge to try and get up again. She took three deep breaths, and this time used all the strength she had, maybe more to heave herself up. The chair lifted high off the ground, and Rachel used her feet to keep it up. Suddenly the chair was on it's four legs, although rocking a couple times before it actually stood its ground. Through her tears and reddened face she managed to smile to herself, happy that she now had a chance. She took a quick look at the clock and her smile vanished. She had thirty more minutes before detonation.

Rachel hopped towards the filing cabinet, but suddenly lost her balance. Her heart pounded faster and faster inside her chest at the thought of the chair falling down once again. However with her relief she caught her balance and carefully continued her way again towards the knife. To Rachel's dismay, the filing cabinet was a few inches higher then her head and too high for her to reach. Realizing this, and without another thought, Rachel began to back up her chair slowly to get a good run at the cabinet so she could knock the blade off onto the floor. The first time she managed to move the cabinet with a good jolt, and heard the knife slide above her head. Time was running out, so Rachel quickly backed up again and with more force pushed herself to hit the filing cabinet with even more force then the first time. The second blow dropped the blade down to the floor, but also injured Rachel's arm. As her eyes watered in pain, she once again dropped herself to the floor beside the knife that awaited her. She had the chair with her hands tied behind it, with her legs backing her up so she could pick up the knife. Grabbing the blade she positioned it behind the rope so she could start to saw back and forth at it to finally escape from this nightmare.

It didn't take long before Rachel set herself free. She peered at the clock once more which read 11:45. Rachel quickly ran to the door, knowing she had more then enough time to exit the building. She opened the door, but something struck her as she saw the open room in front of her. 'Don't expect your next task to be so…_easy_.' Rachel remembered what the Joker had said. There was a note pinned to the door with the exact same hand writing on the cards that she had received with her roses. It read:

"If you have read this, you obviously have cut yourself free. Now like I said before, your next task won't be so easy. Sitting all around you are some more citizens of Gotham. They were all put in the same situation as you are in. How could you forget about them? Now it's your turn to do the rescuing. You probably won't have enough time to cut through all their ropes if any. So what door will you choose? You could take door number one where you could try and save as many as you can. In door two you could choose to die with them because you know you just couldn't live with yourself if you let them die. Or door three, which would be leaving with a goodbye because there's nothing else you can do but save yourself. I hope you choose wisely, Miss. Dawes. Oh by the way, I'd like my knife back if you ever get out of there."

Rachel tore up the letter in anger. Of course! How could she forget there would be others? The Joker could never be that nice and get away with it. Now she had to suffer for it because she asked him to please let her go. Rachel tightened her fist harder on the handle of the knife and started running up to people and cutting them loose. By the fifth person she knew it would be impossible to free all of them. Rachel started to cry in horror as she cut away at a young man's ropes as everyone pleaded and begged for her to hurry. Some people ran without question, where others took the time to look around for some other device to help her with, but could not find a single sharp item. Rachel ordered them to leave, and appreciated there act of kindness.

Eight minutes were left on the clock by the time she had freed ten people. Rachel got up and said sorry to the rest she couldn't save. She started running off; her eyes were blurred from her tears. Unexpectedly she had bumped into someone and fell over. Rachel had thought it must have been a wall, but she looked up and saw a dark figure standing there. She rubbed her eyes to see clearly at what she was looking at. There stood Batman, his left hand reached out for her to lift her up.


	7. A Hero

**Thank you guys for the reviews for chapter six! I really appreciate them! As for your question Kendra Luehr, the scene with the Joker and Rachel was the continuation of the ending of chapter five. :)**

Chapter Seven

A Hero

Rachel stared at Batman with unbelieving eyes. Tears flowed down her cheeks as a smile appeared upon her face. Rachel accepted his hand and he pulled her up off the ground and onto her feet. She was surprised that Bruce had found her in time. Now seeing Batman standing in front of her, Rachel realized that he never turned himself in. She knew he could never do that, but Rachel was wonderfully pleased that he came to risk his life to save hers and the lives of others. Maybe now the citizens of Gotham City will finally realize how heroic Batman truly is. It still would never replace the five lives that were taken only a month ago, but maybe saving these people will heal the small piece of the wound that was put upon Batman, even though no one will ever know the real truth of what happened.

"Bruce…" Rachel whispered in case anyone was listening.

Batman nodded and walked passed her, leaving his presence with a brush of air. Rachel whirled around, noticing him cut everyone loose with his blades that were connected to his forearm. There was no sawing needed; each rope was severed in half in one slice, giving a clean cut. A few people were surprised that Batman had showed up to help, the rest didn't care, they just wanted out. There was five more minutes left until the building would be destroyed. Rachel flipped the knife out of her pocket and hastily began to help him. Each person that was cut free had been given the order to leave the building at once, and they all obeyed. Rachel smiled as her and Batman had freed every single one of them. There was finally hope.

"Two and a half minutes left," Batman spoke while looking at a clock. He gazed at Rachel; she had a look of despair that they wouldn't make it out of the building alive.

"I know," Rachel replied, looking down at the floor.

Batman placed his index finger under her chin to raise her head. "Hey," He smiled, and Rachel smiled back, "You ready?"

Rachel stared at him with confusion and lifted her left eyebrow. With no time to think, Batman tied her around his waste. Rachel suddenly realized what he was about to do. Bruce turned around towards the large glass window that stood tall in front of them. With no hesitation Batman obliterated the window into pieces with his boot. The shattered glass glimmered in the night sky as it plummeted twelve stories down. Rachel hated heights, so she squeezed her eyes shut. She was glad that the Joker had not left her on the highest floor of Wayne Enterprises, but that would have been to obvious anyway. Suddenly Rachel felt the air sweep under her and she held her breath. Batman's wings flapped open as they slowly descended towards the street. Rachel opened her eyes, glad that the worst part was over. She looked down at the red and blue lights below them. There were officers everywhere, watching the building that situated in front of them. As she saw the police, she spotted the men and woman, one by one, leaving the front door of the building.

Once they reached the ground Batman untied her. Rachel was glad to be back on her feet. They stood away from the tall building which towered over them. She turned her head and looked intently at Batman while his eyes were fixated on Wayne Enterprises. He had to let go of one of the most important things in his life. Bruce chose to save Rachel and the others not by turning himself in so the Joker would deactivate the bomb, but by risking his life. He still had his identity a secret, but to trust the Joker with that information would be hopeless.

"Should we go?" Rachel asked Batman, hoping to get a glance.

He answered with a firm voice that almost scared her, "No, not yet."

----------

_Four hours ago…_

Bruce was frozen in his place. Time to him no longer existed, but time was delicate since he only had four hours to decide what his choice would be; his identity, or Wayne Enterprises and Rachel. The Joker just could not leave well enough alone. Bruce slammed his fist on the coffee table, not realizing his strength as it broke in half with wood splinters flying all over the living room. Alfred was startled in shock, not because of the coffee table, but also of the video that they had just finished watching.

"Master Wayne…" Alfred's voice drifted off in concern, "…What should we do?"

Bruce didn't answer him at first, but as soon as Alfred cleared his throat to get his attention his head shot up coming out of his daze. "I've got to warn Rachel."

"Of course you do," Alfred responded, "Anything you'd like me to do Master Wayne?"

"Call the police station; tell them the Joker plans to blow up Wayne Enterprises." Bruce spoke fast as his patience was wearing thin. Already dressed as Batman, he walked towards the door to leave. His pace was almost unfamiliar.

"I will do that, sir," Alfred called after him before he shut the door.

Bruce made his way up to the roof of the apartment building. He stood on the edge as he looked down at Gotham. Rachel's apartment was not very far from his. Suddenly Batman jumped off the building, his wings spread out allowing him to glide from one building to another. The cool air stung his face but that didn't fizz on him at the moment.

Once Bruce finally arrived to the ceiling of Rachel's apartment building, he quickly glanced down at the parking lot. A van had caught his attention for only a moment as it was leaving the parking lot and onto the road. Forgetting about the van as it was not important, Batman spun around and headed for the door. He rushed down the stairs until he reached Rachel's level. As soon as he got there he knocked on her door, but there was no answer. Bruce became worried for her. He knocked one more time but a little harder then the first. When there was still no reply Bruce tried using the door knob. Surprisingly the door was unlocked. He called Rachel's name, but the room stood quiet. The lights had been left on, and there was a few things scattered around on the floor as if there had been a struggle. Bruce clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. He wanted to kill the Joker for laying his hands on Rachel. Batman then spotted one of her kitchen knives lying on the living room floor. He checked it, and thankfully there appeared to be no blood on it. Bruce was too late, but he knew where the Joker had brought her: Wayne Enterprises. Before he could go there, however, he had one more stop to make.

As Batman left Rachel's apartment building, he could hear sirens which assured him that Alfred had phoned the police. Bruce's next stop was to visit Gordon. When he reached his house he knocked on the door. It opened to show Gordon's very, very confused face.

"Batman…what are you doing here? I don't want to get you arrested." His voice was shaky but he was really curious as to what Batman wanted.

"I need a favour from you." Bruce's voice was deep and to the point.

Gordon stared at Batman for a few seconds before he answered. "Possibly, what is it?"

"I've been having a bad rap over the past month," Batman continued and waited for Gordon to answer.

"Yes…?" The commissioner questioned.

"I have an idea to run by you that can be for the better of Batman."

Gordon tilted his head, wondering what the hell his favour could be.

---------

After talking to Gordon, Batman's next stop was to rescue Rachel from Wayne Enterprises. Sure, he could just turn himself in, but that is something he could not do. He had to give up the building of Wayne Enterprises; there was nothing else that could be done. There was around an hour remaining before it would get blown up into smithereens, so he had to hurry. Time was getting on, and Batman knew it would take a while to find Rachel in the building of the great Wayne Enterprises. He was agitated and distressed just thinking about it.

The moment Batman reached the building right across from Wayne Enterprises; he glanced down at the police. They were yelling and demanding orders for the men with the guns guarding the inside of the lobby to drop them and come out with their hands on there heads. The front was to heavily protected by clowns who wouldn't let you get by without a password. That was fine for Batman; he rarely ever used the front door. Instead, he leaped off the ledge and glided his way towards a window of Wayne Enterprises. The breeze that gusted through under his wings helped him stay up in the air. Suddenly Batman used himself as a giant boulder and smashed into the window.

The office he had entered was empty and the only light that brightened it up was the moon. Batman took a quick glance at the clock to know how much time he had left. He sighed. With only thirty minutes to go he knew it would take a miracle to find Rachel. After all the people of Gotham City no longer wanted Batman, every device he owned was locked away. He didn't have anything to track Rachel down, so really all he could use was speed and his wits.

After searching the building for Rachel for fifteen minutes, Batman began to grow irritated and angry. He couldn't live with himself if she was taken from him along with his business. Unexpectedly, as Batman was darting down a hallway, he bumped into a man who sounded anxious and afraid. He was wearing a clown mask, and Batman snared at the sight of him. Without warning he immediately picked the stranger up by his collar and threw him up against a wall.

"Please…d-don't hurt me!" The man stuttered.

"Why not?!" Batman gritted his teeth.

"B-because I can help you."

Batman stares at him without a word, but edges him to continue. The man clears his throat.

"When the Joker, you know, arrived with his buddies, I hid until the time was right. I jumped on one of the men in the clown masks and I, well…I knocked him out. I then took his mask. I heard that the Joker has kept everybody on the twelfth floor, if that's why you're here," The man gripped his right hand on Batman's arm, "I stayed clear of the Joker and the other men until they left. There gone now, they vacated the building about twenty minutes ago. I was just on my way out."

"Why haven't you tried to save those people?!" Batman spat. His fists clenched harder on the man's collar, "And why should I believe you?"

Suddenly the man let go of Batman's arm and used it to take off the mask. His dark brown hair fell forward, and his young face was broad and cleanly shaved. His grey eyes looked fiercely into Batman's.

"My name is Drew, Drew Thompson." He was out of breath.

Batman loosened his grasp until he finally let him go. He recognized Drew's face, and must have seen him around here before.

"Thank you," Drew spoke with sarcastic appreciation as he wiped off his chest.

Batman became angry once again and yelled, "Why have you not tried to save those people?!"

Drew shrugged as he turned around to leave, showing the back of his head, "I have to save my ass!"

Batman watched him in disbelief as Drew put his mask back on and turned around the corner out of site. However, Drew became little importance now that he knew where to go. Batman was on the sixteenth floor and everyone was on the twelfth. It took him about five minutes when he finally reached the floor. Batman's pace quickened when he could hear muffled moans and sobs. Batman followed the noise, and a few people had scurried by him while giving him a stare as they went. Once Batman turned the corner he suddenly halted. He sighed in relief when he saw Rachel in tears, running in his direction. In Batman's surprise she bumped into him, not even knowing he was there.

---------

Rachel sighed as she looked back at the building. She was shocked that Batman didn't want to leave but instead wanted to see Wayne Enterprises be blown out of existence. Rachel's fists clutched as she thought of the Joker and what he has done. It's not a surprise though, seeing that he was the prince of destruction. Rachel tapped her fingers on her crossed arms. She just wanted to go home and get this over with. Suddenly she was thrown away from her thoughts. A loud and crashing BOOM rang through her ears followed by a few more and she blinked hard in alarm. Everything became red and orange as she watched in horror at the explosion in font of her. At that moment she thought she was in hell. The smoke flowed up quickly over the building as it slowly crashed to the ground. It appeared as if the smoke was the devil's hand itself, pulling and tearing Wayne Enterprises down as if it had been built of newspaper. Rachel's eyes started to water and burn from the smoke, and the heat upon her skin made her sweat with discomfort. She placed the collar of her shirt to her mouth and nose to keep any of it from entering her lungs.

Rachel glanced over to her right and saw a figure standing across the street in the shadows. She suddenly realized that it was the Joker that seemed to glare in her direction. She swore she could hear his shrill laughs over the destruction of the building. Rachel took the time to glance back over at Batman. He showed no sign of movement. His eyes reflected the orange fire before them. When Rachel took a momentary look back at the Joker, he was gone. All that was left was the shadows from which he stood. Rachel sighed and looked back at Batman. She knew she had to say something.

"Bruce…I'm sorry…" Her voice dragged on as she waited for a response. Rachel was frightened at how quiet he was.

Suddenly Batman turned to look at her and a small smile creped up his face, "There's always that choice to rebuild."

Rachel smiled softly as she turned her head back to watch the ruin in front of them. She was glad that Bruce wasn't all to upset over it. He was probably angrier at the Joker then anything.

It had been a while before everything became quiet except for all the people conversing about what just happened. Some screamed 'The Joker needs to be put to justice!' at the cops and others hoped that nobody was inside the building when it collapsed. The fire that settled on the rubble was all that remained, which was being taken out by the firemen. Rachel and Batman hadn't talked since right after she saw the Joker, so she decided to bring something up which was burning away in her mind.

"Why did you want to stay and watch?" Rachel asked, breaking off the silence between them.

Batman glanced down at her and locked his eyes with hers, "I didn't stay here simply because I wanted to watch."

Rachel stared at him with confusion, "Then why? Why did you want to stay?"

Unexpectedly their conversation was cut short when Gordon walked up towards them with a few officers. Rachel shook her head worried, but when she saw a smile appear on the commissioner's face, she suddenly sighed with relief that his visit wasn't a bad one.

"Ladies and gentlemen can I have your attention!" Gordon yelled out to the crowd.

People started to shush each other as all they looked over to the man calling out to them. Some whispered in shock as their eyes fell upon Batman. Rachel became very uncomfortable as she was standing beside him.

"This man," Gordon continued as the whispers subsided, "Who we all know as Batman, saved eighteen people from that building while even risking his life. You have all made the mistake in believing that this man is no good to Gotham. It's not because the truth is too difficult to see, but because we have *all* been too selfish to care. We don't know exactly what happened a month ago, but is it possible that maybe, just maybe, it wasn't his entire fault? I think we should give Batman a second chance because that's what we all deserve. I believe that Batman is a hero, and we all need a hero."

A few people in the crowd started to clap in agreement, followed by a few more, until everyone decided to clap. Gordon glanced at Batman through his glasses and their eyes met. Rachel beamed with exhilaration. Gordon then winked at him and started to walk towards them.

"Looks like the crowd loves you," Gordon spoke.

"Thank you for helping me out with my favour," Batman nodded in appreciation.

"It was no problem, I'm just glad that everything has worked out. Although, Bruce Wayne wont be to happy," Gordon was concerned. Batman took a deep breath. "I wonder why the Joker chose Wayne Enterprises of all places."

"Whatever it is, I'll be keeping an eye open," Batman said sharply.

"Of course you will. Welcome back." Gordon smiled then looked at Rachel, "I'm glad you're alright. Would you mind if I ask you a few questions about what happened?"

"Sure," Rachel grinned, although that wasn't something she really wanted to do at the moment.

Gordon and Rachel turned away closer to the crowd, leaving Batman. She turned her head back at him, but he was gone.

It didn't take long before Gordon finished asking her questions and they both went their separate ways. They were mainly about how the Joker found her and what he did. Gordon was surprised at how odd the act was of the Joker's generosity when he left her the knife. Rachel sighed but kept a smile on her face as she walked down the sidewalk. She took one more glance behind her at the rubble of Wayne Enterprises, and then positioned her hand out for a taxi.

When Rachel arrived home she placed her keys on the counter and went to the sink. It had been a really long night, and Rachel's throat was dry from all the yelling and screaming. She turned on the tap and waited a few seconds until the water was cold, and then placed her glass under the faucet. As Rachel gulped down the water she felt revived. She turned and leaned her back up against the counter, closed her eyes and sighed in relaxation. Rachel rubbed her forehead with her right hand and looked at her sore wrists. She then slid her left hand up her right arm. A large bruise situated itself there from when she was on the chair and fell. Rachel grabbed some ice from the freezer and put them in a zip lock bag. She placed them onto her bruise and she clenched her teeth in pain. After the pain was relieved, Rachel started to think about the Joker when she last saw him. He knows she survived and that Batman never turned himself in. Now what? What was the next big plan of the Joker's? Rachel knew she had to stop the Joker from doing this madness, but how?

**Thank you guys for reading! I know there wasn't any Joker and Rachel scenes but don't worry, I'm dedicating my whole next chapter for them! I had to get everything else out of the way first and now that I have, things will start changing, so stay tuned! As for Drew Thomson, I may be having an even bigger reason for his appearance in the story but I'm not to sure yet. I'll leave you guys to wonder about it :)**


	8. Can't See Straight Anymore

**Thanks for Reviews! Well here's chapter eight. I'm not to sure about it but please let me know what you guys think. I sort of went through this one fast. Anyways, I'm looking forward to hear from you guys as always! **

Chapter Eight

Can't See Straight Anymore

It had been a few days since the explosion and the Joker had not come around since then but he'd always be back. The location of where Wayne Enterprises used to be was being cleared away to start anew. Still, Rachel could not get the image out of her head of the Joker staring at her from across the street with that sinister side smirk on his red painted mouth. His head was down but his eyes shot forward. She shivered and her hair stood on end at the thought. Deep down in her gut, however, it was intense. If it was in a good or bad way she did not know. 'Bad way,' Rachel thought, trying to convince herself. 'Did I bump my head on something last night? God!' Rachel shook her head and took a sip of her morning coffee. Her eyes glanced across the kitchen until they fell upon the switch blade on the counter. Remembering about the Joker's act of generosity Rachel scoffed. Sure she was glad, but everything about that clown didn't seem right. Rachel quickly forgot about it and continued her day.

Rachel drove down the dark streets on here way home that where cold with newspapers blowing across the sidewalk. The occasional car horn beeped in the crowd of busy cars driving to their destinations, but you never knew where they were going. Each face was different with their own lives and Rachel couldn't help but wonder who they were. She stared at the red light in front of her. People are so wound up when the light turns red but really it saves our lives, it keeps us from getting into accidents. Rachel sighed. However, when a light lasts this long she could understand the complaints.

Suddenly she blinked out of her stare as she heard screams and gunshots up ahead. People were running around frantic. Rachel's eyes widened in alarm as she saw a few men in the crowd wearing clown masks. She glanced around from side to side through everybody as if she were looking for something. Shockingly she spotted out the Joker who stood in front of the hysterically scared, swarm of people. 'Please don't let him notice me,' Rachel kept repeating to herself, trying to hide her face. Curious, she looked up to only find him gone. Rachel heaved a sigh in relief.

Unexpectedly there was a knock on the passenger side window which made her fly out of her seat 10 feet high. Rachel slowly turned her head in fear towards the noise. There right at her window was the Joker, smirking at her. He pointed towards the lock of the car door, obviously wanting her to unlock it.

Rachel rolled down the window a few inches, "If you think I'm letting you in you're crazy."

The Joker spoke through the crack, "Hmm…remember when I gave you that second. Chance? I think you owe me one."

Hesitant at first, Rachel finally leaned over as much as her seatbelt would let her, and unlocked the door. She didn't know what possessed her to do so.

"What do you want?!" Rachel snapped as the Joker climbed into the vehicle. The light turned green, and she had no choice but to start driving.

"I. Want. You…to put on this _mask_," The Joker handed her a clown mask.

"And what makes you think I'll wear that thing?" Rachel sneered.

"Well you don't have to," The Joker smacked his lips while giving her an honest look, and blinked slowly as if he were drunk, "That is if you don't _mind _people seeing you in the same car as meee."

Rachel snatched the mask from her lap with one hand and placed it over her face. She could surprisingly see very well through the eye holes.

"Now what?" Rachel asked angrily, her voice was muffled under the small breathing space around her head.

"Now we'll be…going wherever you were going before, which I assume is you're apartment." The Joker replied.

Rachel became frustrated, "I'm not taking you to my apartment!"

The Joker kept his eyes facing the road a head of them, "Now now don't play hard," He laughed, "Things wont turn out so…well, you already used up your 'second chance,'" The Joker threatened.

Rachel stayed quiet and kept her eye on the road, afraid that he'd do anything that would hurt her.

"Hmm…let's see what's on the radio," The Joker leaned over to the radio and pressed the button to turn it on with his purple gloved finger. The song Love Games by Lady Gaga just started. The Joker slowly looked up at Rachel and lifted his brow. She rolled her eyes and looked down.

"Turn it off," Rachel retorted.

The Joker ignored her while listening to the song. It started to bother her, the whole time with him in the car did. Rachel grew annoyed as she shot a stare at the radio, then at the Joker. She quickly changed the station when the course came on, and the song I'd Lie by Taylor Swift came on.

"_He looks around the room _

_Innocently overlooks the truthShouldn't a light go onDoesn't he know I've had him memorized for so long"_

Rachel quickly switched the station again and the Joker just stared at what she was doing. The song I Don't Want To Miss A Thing by Aerosmith played.

"_I don't want to miss one smileI don't want to miss one kissI just want to be with youRight here with you, just like thisI just want to hold you closeFeel your heart so close to mineAnd just stay here in this momentFor all the rest of time"_

Rachel grew frustrated and violently turned the radio off.

The Joker laughed, "Y'know…if you ever go on a road trip, remind me never to uh, come." He said licking his lips.

Rachel gave him a quick glance then looked back at the road. 'Helloooo! Does he not know why I kept changing the station?' Rachel thought. Probably just to piss her off because he knew exactly what she was going through.

"I think the first was the best," The Joker gave a know-it-all grin.

Rachel gagged knowing exactly what he meant. That's as classy as the Joker would get, if it's even classy at all. Rachel ignored his comment.

"Look, I just want to know, why are you in my car?"

The Joker faced the passenger window, "Because you're my new get away car."

"No, I'd never stoop that low. Seriously, why?" Rachel asked, annoyed.

The Joker looked at her, lifted his brow and laughed for only a few seconds, then died down quickly. "It's…un-der-stan-dble that you were just at the right place at the right _time_," He smirked.

"More like the wrong place at the wrong time," Rachel cursed under her breath, "I forgot to thank you by the way for keeping me hostage in a building that was about to blow up."

"No problem," The Joker laughed, "No hard feelings?"

"Yeah, sure," Rachel rolled her eyes.

The rest of the drive home they both remained quiet. Rachel had wondered exactly why the Joker had entered her car. He probably could have just been using her to help him get away. Being in the same car with the Joker was bloodcurdling. Rachel never knew what he would do next, or what would happen as soon as they got out of the car.

It was around 9:30pm when they arrived at Rachel's apartment. She got out of the car followed by the Joker. Rachel placed her keys into her purse and started walking towards the door. She took off the mask as well. The Joker sauntered behind her, and Rachel couldn't help but take a couple glances behind her back in case he was up to something. Thankfully no one was around to notice his presence.

Once they entered her apartment, Rachel turned around at the Joker.

"Okay, you're here. Now what?"

The Joker's eyes browsed around her apartment for a second, then at Rachel.

"I just came for my knife," He said while smacking his lips.

"I lost it…" Rachel lied, having no idea why she did.

"Hmm…" The Joker growled under his breath, "Well, I can always visit." He walked over to the kitchen table and sat down, and then he pulled another one out for his feet. The Joker lifted his hands over behind his head and sighed in relaxation.

Rachel followed the Joker and crossed her arms, watching the crazed clown at her kitchen table, "How long are you going to be here for?" She asked abruptly.

The Joker placed his hands on the table, "What's the hurry, Miss Dawes? Only a few days ago you wanted to uh, ask me a few questions, hmm?" Suddenly the Joker stood up from his chair and continues, swaying his arms in the air as he talked, "Didn't you want to know about the "man" behind the scars?"

Rachel stared speechlessly at the man in the purple suit who stood in front of her. She wasn't sure if he was angry or not, his tone was unreadable and so was his face. The Joker was right, however, she wanted to know all about him, what made him turn out the way he did.

The Joker laughed at Rachel's silence, and then walked up closer to her until they were only two feet from each other. "Poor beautiful Miss. Dawes…" The Joker slid his gloved hand through Rachel's hair, "Did I make you upset?" He pouted. His glove tickled her cheek.

Rachel harshly pushed his hand away, "No."

"Are you suurree?" The Joker stared at her with an angry smirk but then abruptly turned and walked away towards the living room.

"I just…" Rachel said slowly and he stopped to listen, "I just want you to know that whatever you went through in the past, I'm sorry. I don't even know why I'm saying this, but everybody needs someone to talk to, and I'd like to help."

The Joker laughed and mocked at her kindness as if to throw it away like garbage, "I don't need help Miss. Dawes," He lips smacked and he clenched his fists, "Sometimes you just have to, uh, let things slide and not let your feathers get ruffled."

"I expected as much," Rachel replied, "I'll never forgive you though of the lives you've taken," She paused for a couple seconds then continued, "And Harvey's."

The Joker cocked his head, and then suddenly bolted towards her. Rachel screamed as he pressed his body up against hers so she could not move. She breathed heavily from the sudden weight up against her chest. Without warning the Joker violently put his right hand down Rachel's pants pocket. She freaked out in panic of his sudden act of aggression and abuse. The Joker's chin lay on her shoulder while his hand dug through her pants, then rapidly he took it out, holding his knife in front of Rachel's face.

"Like I said, I only came for this," The Joker smiled and liked his lips, then walked away from her, leaving the apartment.

Rachel suddenly fell to her knees and burst into tears. So many feelings rushed over her and she couldn't explain it; anger, confusion, miserable, hurt, embarrassed, and most of all, fear. Mentioning Harvey's name and remembering what happened to him got her upset, and the fact of what the Joker just did to her. It wasn't abuse which was what Rachel thought it was at the time, but the way he acted she knew he enjoyed the torment. What would he think now? The knife was in her pocket the whole time and the Joker knew it. She hadn't the faintest idea why she had put it in her pocket in the first place and didn't give it to him when he asked for it. Rachel was so wound up that she totally forgot to convince the Joker not to tell everyone about Batman's identity. Now he was off again doing God knows what. Rachel was afraid that she had now got herself into something that she wouldn't be able to let go; she knew the Joker would keep coming back. She just couldn't see straight, she was seeing red.

Rachel took a few deep breaths to keep herself in order. Her face was puffy and red, and in some way she needed a good cry. Tears fell onto the floor and her mascara was out of place. Rachel cried black tears and wiped them away onto her hand. The most mixed up thing to her at the moment was the fact that she was unsure about what she wanted. Rachel hated seeing the Joker and his creepy messed up face, but deep down in the pit of her soul she felt sorry for him, his scars especially. Something felt so wrong. Rachel hated the fact that she was so caring for others. The Joker was probably to far off to help, but she also had strength to get what she wanted and never give up until she had it; in selfless situations of course.

After her crying Rachel decided to take a shower and then go to bed. She took off her clothes and looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. So much she wanted to feel embrace, but instead she found torment seeking that embrace. Rachel stepped into the shower and turned on the hot water. The steam filled the room which then fogged up the mirror. Rachel faced the water and had her hands reached out to feel the warmth on her palms. She then slid her hands through her wet, dark brown hair.

--------

The Joker slammed Rachel's apartment door and placed his knife into his pocket. He laughed as he thought back to her screams of fear and he felt accomplished. Unexpectedly he started to hear sobbing through the door. The Joker's smile grew even bigger. To his surprise Rachel's sobs became louder and without knowing his smirk slowly started to disappear. The Joker leaned his back against Rachel's apartment door and listened. Suddenly he realized what he as doing and he became sick with disgust. At that moment he wanted to take the knife he had borrowed to Rachel and stick it in her heart. Instead the Joker angrily grabbed the knife out of his pocket and threw it on the wooden floor. The blade stabbed into the ground and the Joker walked fast in frustration down the hallway. A man had spotted him and threatened to call the cops. Without a care the Joker bashed the man's face as he walked by, knocking him out cold.

The Joker strode down an ally way, kicking rocks and garbage and whatever else was in his way. Little did anyone know that the Joker had lost his soul long ago. He ran from any emotions, good or bad, and hid them behind his face paint. Now people call him a freak, or a disgrace, but he didn't care, not anymore. The Joker began to laugh suddenly as he started to destroy the ally way, knocking over all the dumpsters and lighting things on fire. He threw a loose piece of cement through a window and then grabbed a stuffed bear from the dumpster and lit it on fire and then tossed that into the broken window too. The Joker made fun of the people inside who were yelling and screaming in shock as their house caught on fire. He dashed towards the end of the ally to another street, noticing a few homeless people surrounding a barrel of fire. The Joker smirked as he knew he was going to make his night fun.

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The next morning Rachel woke up with her eyes swollen from crying the night before. However, Rachel felt fresh and ready to start a new day. Plus Bruce would be coming over for lunch. She had invited him after she had got out of the shower last night. All she needed right now was some company. Rachel continued her daily chores, ignoring the TV as much as possible. She didn't want to see the morning news because most likely it would be about the Joker. That was something Rachel did not want to listen to at the moment. When she spotted the clown mask on the kitchen table that she had worn on her way home, Rachel hid it in one of her drawers in her bedroom. She definitely did not want Bruce to see it.

When the time lunch had come, Rachel waited patiently for her guest to arrive. She had made some beef shepherd's pie served up and ready to eat. When Rachel heard a knock on the door she became excited to finally have some company. Once she opened the door, she saw Bruce's welcoming face, although he seemed distraught.

"What? What's wrong?" Rachel's eyes scanned Bruce's face.

"Nothing, it's just, I found this knife in front of your door. It was jammed into the floor boards," Bruce showed the blade to Rachel, "It would have had to of been someone with a lot of strength to throw it that hard to go so deep."

Rachel looked at the knife in surprise and confusion. 'What the hell happened?' Rachel thought while looking at Bruce's baffled facial expressions.


	9. Curiosity

**It's chapter nine! I wrote it in one day. I was in a good mood for writing today so I thought I'd use that to my advantage. There's some more Joker/Rachel in this chapter! I enjoyed writing this chapter a lot more too. Thank you Kendra Luehr for the review and the tip! Anonymous readers can now review my story. I didn't know it was disabled! And thank you Gothic-Romantic99 for your review as well! I tried to make that part powerful when he threw the knife so I'm glad you noticed!**

**P.S. I hope Heath wins golden globe!**

Chapter Nine

Curiosity

Rachel watched the waving knife in front of her. In some possible temperament the Joker had thrown his knife to the floor, but why? That's all he came to Rachel's apartment for, yet he left it to her care once again. Bruce stared at Rachel, waiting for a reply. She glanced into his eyes and realized it had been about half a minute of silence.

"That's weird…" Rachel's voice dragged off, "Here, I'll take it." Her hand reached out for the knife, and Bruce transferred it to her.

"What will you do with it?" He asked following Rachel as she placed it on the coffee table.

She looked up at Bruce's questionable face, "Maybe the owner will turn up."

"That makes sense," Bruce nodded, "Just be careful, the owner might be crazy. I mean, the way he just left it there. It's a little odd."

"Tell me about it," Rachel sighed thinking about the Joker, and then smiled, "So, ready to eat?"

"Certainly, it smells great," Bruce grinned as they both walked to the table and sat down. "Have you watched the news this morning?" He asked as they began to eat.

Rachel looked up at Bruce's face and cleared her throat, "No, what's new?"

"The Joker, in most cases. He tried to steal the money from my bank, can you believe that? He's trying to stop me from rebuilding Wayne Enterprises. Then later at around 10:15 he started to destroy some ally way, then harass these homeless people." Bruce scoffed.

Rachel stopped eating as she listened, "Last night?"

Bruce took a sip of some orange juice, "Yes. He wouldn't have got away with the bank scenario if it wasn't for his break away in a car. That Joker is some piece of work; he's got a plan up every sleeve."

Suddenly Rachel froze in place. She was the one driving the car, the one who stopped Batman from being able the catch the Joker. Could he have planned it all along? Could he have somehow known what time she would get off of work and knew her exact route? Rachel was just a part of the Joker's stupid game and he was trying to get her against Batman and society without even her knowing it. Words could not describe how angry she was with the Joker at that moment.

"Yeah…" Rachel looked down to her food, almost mumbling her words, "He is tricky."

Bruce watched Rachel with concern, "Are you alright?"

From his words she quickly shot her head back up from her state of bemusement and gave him a fake smile, "I am, the Joker just makes me irritated and angry, that's all."

Bruce accepted her statement, "I know. Everyone is getting tired of that clown. Let's just talk about something else."

Rachel agreed and she continued eating. She was proud about how well she made the pie. Everything turned out great, and Bruce sincerely enjoyed it. Once they were finished, the sat in the living room to relax with a glass of wine. It was around 3:30pm by that time. Since the day Rachel was taken hostage, she had always wondered how Bruce had found her in that large building. She had assumed it was just because he was Batman, no questions asked, but suddenly she wanted to know seeing that they were already in the conversation.

"Bruce," Rachel spoke, "How did you know where to find me in Wayne Enterprises?"

Bruce was taken aback by her question, but he answered her nevertheless. "It took me a while, but I had unexpectedly bumped into some man who claimed himself to be Drew Thompson."

As Bruce told her about what happened, Rachel couldn't help but be interested in Drew. She found it strange that that man took so long in getting out of the building, or the fact that the Joker didn't even notice that Drew wasn't one of his gang being how smart he was. Sure he wore a mask, but the voice and clothing would be easily to distinct. The fact that Drew didn't try to save everyone on the twelfth floor and his attitude almost seemed a little inhuman. Maybe he was just one of those pricks but still, the whole situation didn't seem normal. Rachel was surprised that Bruce didn't look more into it but she kept her information to herself anyway.

By the time Bruce had left, it had been around 5:00pm. Rachel had suggested for him to stay for dinner but he had a lot of business to take care of. He said goodbye with a kiss on her forehead and told her to keep in touch. Once Rachel shut the door she exhaled heavily. She liked the company, and did not want to be alone. Tomorrow she had to go to work, and thinking about it just depressed her more. Rachel walked unsteadily towards her fruit bowl and grabbed an orange. She started to peel away at it and its aroma began to stimulate her smell. Rachel took a bite of the orange and the juice ran through past her tongue and down her throat.

By the time Rachel had ate dinner it was late at night. She had watched a few romantic comedies and fell asleep on the couch by 11:00pm. When Rachel woke up the next morning she heard her alarm clock ringing in her room. She checked the time and realized that she was late for work, and knew that the alarm must have been going off for quite some time now. Rachel quickly got dressed for work and left her apartment without eating breakfast.

Once Rachel arrived for work she had apologized for her lateness and that she hadn't been feeling the greatest lately. Her apology was accepted as long as it didn't become a habit. Rachel did her normal paper work, until she was interrupted by Gordon.

"Good morning Rachel," He smiled.

"Oh good morning Gordon." Rachel put down her papers and looked up.

"Have you heard about what happened two nights ago?"

"Yes I have," Rachel spoke quickly; she didn't want the topic about the Joker escaping in a vehicle come up.

"It's terrible. However, we managed to catch one of the clowns."

"Oh?" Rachel was happy that there was at least some good news.

"He says his name is Drew Thompson." Gordon responded while cleaning his glasses.

'Drew Thompson?' Rachel suddenly grew into a confused state. If he worked with the Joker, then why would he help Batman?

"Well I'll leave you to your work," Gordon said while walking away.

All day Rachel wanted to go to the police station to question Mr. Thompson, but seeing that it was not her client, she didn't feel like she should. Could the Joker have planned Drew to find Batman and tell him where everyone was kept hostage? Or maybe he just joined his crew to go against him in some way? Rachel felt that this man wasn't all guilty for his crimes. Maybe he was just trying to help? So many questions ran through her mind and she needed a break.

Rachel left to go home at around 9:30pm. She felt pessimistic about driving home because she was afraid that the Joker would ask for another ride once again. Thankfully she arrived at the apartment building with no unwanted visits in her car. Once Rachel reached her door, she could hear mumbling voices inside. She realized it had been her TV. Rachel had remembered never leaving it on, or even watching before she left for work in that matter.

Rachel unlocked her door slowly and held her breath. The lights were off, and sure enough she saw the flashes of color in the living room from the TV. As soon as she shut the door behind her, Rachel flicked the light on. She didn't see anyone, but suddenly a figure stood up from her couch, showing that it was the Joker. Rachel stared at him with shock.

"Hello beautiful," The Joker hollered from across the room.

Without giving a hello back Rachel folded her arms, "Your knife is sitting on the coffee table."

The Joker pulled out the switch blade from his pocket, "Already one step ahead of you, Miss. Dawes," He smirked and put it away, which gave Rachel relief.

She watched him walk up to her as she began to talk, "Well you got what you wanted; now you can leave." Rachel had little patience for him at the moment.

"You seem…upset Miss. Dawes. Has someone waked up on the wrong side of the bed today?" The Joker frowned mockingly.

Rachel rolled her eyes with displeasure, "Why do you keep bothering me? Can't you just leave me alone?"

"Hmm, that could be a poss-i-bil-ity," The Joker licked his lips, "But what would be the fun in that?"

Rachel wanted to say so many things to him but she didn't know where to start. She wanted to mention Drew Thompson, but she thought it maybe wouldn't be the best idea to bring that subject up.

"I know your plan," Rachel suddenly blurted out.

The Joker cocked his head, "Plan? I have no "plans" or so you call it," He smacked his lips.

Rachel ignored his comment knowing that it was a lie and continued her theory, "You're trying to get me against Batman without me knowing it. I'm not stupid."

Rachel could tell that she was starting to get on the Joker's nerves, but she didn't care. She was glad. Suddenly the Joker laughed and then pushed his hair back. He seemed almost impressed about how intelligent she was.

"We are very much alike, you and I." The Joker began.

Rachel looked straight into his eyes with disgust, "Except for a sense of respect, morality and good manners," Rachel suddenly could smell his scent and it was very displeasing, "And hygiene."

The Joker laughed and licked his lips to continue, walking a few more steps towards her, "One word, Miss. Dawes...curiosity. You desire the fact of being free, like me! You long to do what you want to do because. You. Want. It. To act on selfish impulse. You want to see what it's like, and uh, one day, you won't be able to resist."

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Please, I'd never step down to your level."

The Joker leaned his left arm on top of the kitchen counter right beside Rachel, "Have you ever wondered what it's like? To go by your own rules?"

Rachel for the first time analyzed the Joker's facial expressions. She could see him to be strikingly good-looking, if only he would take off the paint so she could see him properly. Considering that the Joker liked to play games, Rachel thought she'd play along, hoping he might back away.

"Your right, you and I are alike, but I think it's the other way around. There will come a moment when you have the chance to show it. To do the right thing." She spoke in almost a seductive voice as if to reel him in.

The Joker was surprised that she didn't back away which was what he wanted, so he continues in the game after he did a short cackle. "I love those moments. I like to wave goodbye to them as they come." He enacted a wave to the living room.

Rachel payed no attention to his remark and continued to speak in her seductive voice while sliding across the counter towards him, "You'll have the chance to do something...courageous. And when you do, you'll realize something. You'll realize that you could be a good man."

The Joker showed no expression, but he accepted her to move in closer, "On the contrary, Miss. Dawes-"

Rachel interrupted him, she was surprisingly enjoying herself having the ball in her court, "No, I have confidence in you. Do you want to know why?"

The Joker bit his mouth, he disliked that his conversation at the beginning was turned around to be put on him, "I can't wait to hear it," he spoke with annoyance.

To the Joker's surprise, Rachel moved right in against the Joker's body. She was right between him and the counter. "One word…curiosity. You're going to crave it. A chance to be admired and gain the repayment that follows," The Joker shifted his head towards Rachel's until their lips were close enough to touch. They could feel each other's breath upon one another, and Rachel began to get weak. She wasn't sure what she was getting herself into, but in the heat of the moment she didn't care. Rachel purposely erased everything from her mind. What started out as an innocent game, started to become an intense one. Everything else was oblivious to her as she let herself go, "You're going to want to know... what it tastes like…"

Without expecting it, their lips had touched but just barely for only what seemed like a second. Both of their mouths were slightly open to let each other in, but both would not take the invite. His lips were soft against hers despite of the paint and his scars. The Joker caressed her left cheek and brought his hand down to her neck. Rachel breathed heavily as her heart pounded hard in her chest. Both her brain and her heart were at war with each other; her mind told her to back away, and her heart told her to keep on.

Rachel could smell the stale paint upon the Joker's face, and Rachel suddenly came back to Earth and realized what she was doing. She pulled away at the exact moment that the Joker did. For some reason she had unexpectedly slapped him hard across the face, applying white paint on her hand. Rachel had realized that he didn't deserve it. It was her fault for getting them both stimulated.

"I'm…I'm sorry," Rachel mumbled, almost embarrassed for her actions, "I'm just so confused right now." Her eyes started to water.

The Joker became angry and frustrated at Rachel for getting him so confused. He suddenly grabbed her arm and Rachel yelped in pain as he yanked her towards him.

"Let me tell you, from the bottom of my heart," The Joker sneered as he liked his lips, "I couldn't care less about your feelings. I hate feelings. And you can lash out at me all you want because it simply just makes me…_stronger_, "The Joker growled the word 'stronger,' "Y'see Miss. Dawes, I'm not here to let out emotions, I'm here for power. I thirst for strength and determination, and when I'm filled with those…_qu-a-li-ties_, I destroy those who have hurt me, or get others just because I enjoy giving them what I got." The Joker sneered with a laugh and let her go.

Rachel stared at the Joker as he backed away from her. She was shocked by his sudden outburst of rage but she knew she had to keep calm.

"There are other ways, other alternatives," Rachel said softly.

The Joker scoffed, "Sorry beautiful, but that chance has passed. I'm the little dot you see miles ahead of you."

"As long as that dot is still in sight, I won't give up helping you." Rachel protested.

The Joker laughed, "You're wasting your time. Bother someone else with your, uh, therapy sessions."

"I will, as long as you leave me alone," Rachel spoke sharply; his eyes pierced into hers.

Without a word or a comment back, the Joker left her apartment. Rachel almost felt poignant that he had gone so quickly like that. She wished she could take off his make-up, stop him from being a maniac, change his clothes, and die his hair dark brown. Then she could actually sit down and have a normal conversation with him, maybe watch a movie or two. Rachel craved for affection so much right now, and at that moment she didn't care that it was from the Joker or not. She was surprised that the Joker didn't use her in her vulnerable state. However, Rachel was also thankful for it. She would never forgive herself if something ever happened, and she wouldn't be able to be around Bruce because it would feel like she betrayed him. Rachel was disgusted that she even let herself go that far.

Unexpectedly the phone began to ring which took Rachel out of her confused thoughts. She checked her clock and it was 11:00pm. 'Who could be phoning so late?' Rachel lowered her brow in thought. She ran to the phone and picked it up, hearing a very friendly and recognizable voice.

"Hi Rachel, its Bruce. Did I wake you?"

Rachel paused for a second, concerned for his reason to call, "Uh no. Is something wrong?"

Bruce sighed, "Good, I'm glad I didn't wake you. Don't worry, nothing is wrong. I've just been thinking."

"Ok, what's been on your mind?" Rachel asked.

"I've been thinking about you, and I know what I've been doing is unlike me but…I just…I just need to talk to you." Bruce's voice sounded almost distressed.

Rachel knew what the conversation was turning into, and she wasn't sure if she was glad or not, "I'm here, talk away."

Bruce continued, "I know you told me you needed time to think, but it's been so long now and I'm going crazy waiting for an answer. I try to get you out of my mind but you keep creeping back up."

Rachel suddenly became very anxious. Sure she wanted affection, but why did she keep thinking about the Joker and what would he think, or do? Rachel felt like she was tied in between the two, but why when she's got a perfectly handsome, respectful, sane man who loves her?

"I love you Rachel," Bruce continued, "And I'd like to know…have you decided?"

Rachel bit her bottom lip. Although he didn't mean it in that sense, it almost seemed like Bruce was asking if she had decided who to choose: Him or the Joker. It would have been easier if Bruce had told her when they had lunch yesterday. Something that happened tonight with the Joker changed things, and now she wanted more. Rachel hated herself for even thinking it, but that was just something she couldn't help.


	10. More Tricks

**Hey guys! I know it's been an extremely long time since I last updated, but I've been busy a lot lately, including getting ready for grad that I didn't have much time for this. Plus I admit that I kinda forgot about this! Sorry! And about the wait! I'm not sure how long it will take me to update again, but I guess we'll see!**

Chapter 10

More Tricks

Rachel listened to Bruce's breathing until he held his breath and the sudden silence scared her. What did he expect? With Bruce persistently bothering her with no space around her to breathe, Rachel found this to be a turn off. He was right, he normally wasn't like this. With Harvey out of the way for a while now, Bruce must feel this was the opportune time to speak up. Had he forgot about her deal with only being with him when Bruce no longer needed Batman? Did Alfred ever give him the note? Since the last time they had both talked about this, Rachel was afraid that it was the wrong time to mention that whole detail on why she would not have any type of relationship with him besides good friends, but now, she felt this was the best time.

"Bruce," Rachel began, "I love you, and you know that, but-"

"But…" Bruce interrupted her with a disappointed and heavy sigh.

Rachel felt bad for saying these words to him, but it had to be done. "You know as well as I do how I feel about you, but I still go by what I said," Rachel walked over to her kitchen sink and grabbed a glass of water; her throat was dry and scratchy, "As long as you're Batman, I think it's best we stay as friends."

Bruce exhaled deeply once again. Rachel could sense his anger, and she almost felt like hanging up the phone. If only she could get Bruce to understand. It was nice to have someone want you so badly, but Rachel didn't even know what she wanted. She began to sway around dizzy in confusion as she thought about so many things at once. Rachel trembled with anxiety as she waited for the silence between them to subside, and the glass of water slipped out between her fingers, crashing to the ground. The shattering noise startled her as she crouched down and began to pick up the pieces with her free hand. Blood mixed with the water dribble down her finger from the glass cutting her skin.

"What was that?! Are you alright?" Bruce yelled through the phone.

"Yes," Rachel replied, squinting from the pain, "Yes, I'm alright, I just dropped a glass."

Bruce suddenly began to speak with annoyance, "What has been wrong with you lately? You've been uneasy, something's wrong and you wont tell me. Are we not good friends?"

Rachel listened to Bruce's rapid breathing in the background. It was so unlike him to act this way, and lately Rachel had noticed that more and more. They were both on the edge, but she had no idea why Bruce was.

"That's unfair," Rachel spoke abruptly; her voice was shaky and tired.

Bruce raised his voice, "Unfair? What's unfair is you giving me an alternative between two things that I can't let go of! If anything is unfair, that is."

Rachel began to yell in anger with the fact that he could be right, "You don't understand!"

"Why don't you let me understand then?" Bruce lowered his tone, and Rachel was relieved that he was no longer shouting in her ear.

Rachel was stumped. She couldn't tell him about the Joker! "I-I can't…" Her voice trailed off, then continued, "What about you? You've been acting different lately, and even admitting it, yet you can't tell me what's wrong either!"

Bruce sighed, "Well when you do, let me know. As for me, I'm fine. I've got to go, duty calls."

Rachel hung up the phone after Bruce. She was surprised and happy that he never cut short their conversation without saying some type of goodbye. After cleaning up the rest of the pieces of glass off the floor, Rachel glanced out through her large living room window. Out in the night sky was the Bat light. It shined brightly against the black and grey clouds until it suddenly began to rain. The water beat hard on her window, and the Bat light dribbled into a sudden blur. Rachel wondered what Batman would be up against, it being most likely the Joker once again.

---------

Bruce hurriedly changed into his Bat uniform. Thoughts continued to flow through his mind about the conversation he just had with Rachel as he slid the thick leather over his body. He was unsure if what he said was right, but he couldn't think about that right now. After saying goodbye to Alfred, Batman bolted out the door and into the moonless night.

Gliding from rooftop to rooftop, Batman began to hear cries and screams, followed by sirens. Smoke elevated to the dark sky, its angry face swallowed it whole. As he reached closer to the source of chaos, he spotted a few buildings on fire. To Batman's surprise, the court house was one of them. His head filled with heavy frustration. Rachel would not be happy. The Joker seemed to be destroying every important building in Gotham City; first a hospital, Wayne Enterprises, and now a court house. Firemen, police officers, and ambulances scattered around the buildings. Amongst the crowd, Batman spotted Gordon. He seemed as though to be pulling his hair in anger of the predicament. Batman reached to the ground towards Gordon.

"Oh am I glad to see you," Gordon spoke solemnly as Batman approached him. His glasses reflected the burning fire in front of them.

"What happened?" Batman asked deeply and forwardly.

Gordon went right to the point. "The Joker's leading man, Drew Thompson, escaped jail tonight at around 10:00. Well, more like the Joker helped him escape with a proximity bomb. Who knows where he was during that time. A few of his henchmen came and killed off a few police officers," Gordon shook his head, "And I guess the Joker thought it would be a neat trick to ignite these buildings at around 10:50."

"Drew Thompson?" Batman asked; his tone of voice remained the same.

"Why yes," Gordon became confused at his reaction, "Do you know of him?"

"Personally, no," Batman responded stiffly, "But I've spoken to him before." He thought back to his meeting with him.

Gordon looked up at Batman and sighed, "If there was anyway of reaching the Joker, it would have been through Thompson. The Joker's methods are unpredictable and incalculable. Every time he's been confronted by the authorities he easily evades capture due to the sick and twisted mind games he plays on us," Gordon took a deep breath after speaking quickly, "I don't think we will ever capture him successfully."

Batman clenched his fists, "We will. His greatest weapon against me, the police, and the District Attorney's office may be intelligence, but I've got speed and strength."

Gordon nodded in agreement then spoke, "What will you do?"

"I may not be able to kill the Joker, but he doesn't plan on killing me either. I'll find him, and when I do, I'll make sure he gets what he deserves after harming these citizens and putting anarchy into Gotham." Batman became more angrier then before as he thought about the Joker's doings according to his own twisted sense of logic, "He thinks we are destined to fight forever, I'll show him how wrong he is."

----------

Rachel paced up and down her living room, worried about what was happening. She didn't feel like just standing there waiting around. Without thinking, Rachel snatched her coat from her closet and put on her shoes. She then grabbed her car keys and scrammed through the door. Rachel knew Batman, and he never liked her being in the middle of anything, but some curiosity inside of her wanted to know what was going on. She didn't care what he thought at the moment.

Rachel drove around Gotham until she finally found smoke and fire burning away through the sky. She gasped in horror at the scene as she got closer. _The court!? What has the Joker done! _She thought to herself. Rachel quickly parked her car and walked through the crowd of people running around in panic and disarray. She could not spot Batman anywhere. Rachel leaned against the wall with one hand on her forehead.

Suddenly, Rachel heard a faint snigger from behind her. She spun around franticly and looked through the alleyway beside her. Unfortunately she could not see a thing. Rachel thought she must have heard things, but as she looked closer, she spotted some movement in the darkness, along with a low shuffling noise. Again she heard the laugh, then a sudden voice behind her.

"Rachel?"

Rachel was startled by the voice that called her name as she turned around rapidly only to face Gordon. She was relieved to see him, and she took a few breaths.

"Sorry to startle you," Gordon continued, "What are you doing here?"

"I um…" Rachel said as she was deep in thought, then came back to realization and gave a quick, short chuckle in her embarrassment, "I just wanted to see what the commotion was about."

"Just watch the news; it's not safe right now, especially with Thompson out again with the Joker."

Rachel held her breath, "Thompson? Drew Thompson?"

"Yes, you remember me mentioning him?"

"You told me about him this morning. He broke out of jail?" Rachel asked with surprise.

"Thanks to the Joker." Gordon sighed, "I've got work to do, but you should get home, okay?"

Rachel nodded, "Alright. What about the court house?"

Gordon glanced behind him at the burnt up building, "It took a while to take out the fires. It's not looking very good. The good thing is that the building at least still stands."

Rachel stared at the ground in anger and sadness. She could not believe it. The Court house was gone, what next? She told Gordon good bye and watched him leave her sight amongst the crowd. Rachel looked behind her once again into the alleyway. She wondered if the noises were real, or just her imagination. Rachel felt so disoriented at the moment that she didn't know what to think. A part of her wanted it to be the Joker so she could give him heck. She took a step closer, still unsure if she should go any further.

Unexpectedly a figure instantly grabbed her around the waste and pulled her into the darkness. She began to scream but a gloved hand cupped over her mouth, muffling her shriek.

"Shh shh shh, don't want to attract any attention on us hmm?"

Rachel's heart sank hearing the Joker's voice fill her ears. He pulled her further into the shadows under a small light as Rachel began to loosen free. He would not let her go, so her last resort was to stomp on his foot.

"Hey now, play nice!" The Joker laughed, letting her go.

Rachel stared at the white features of his face with fury, "You wouldn't let me go!"

The Joker pulled back his hair, "You didn't mind it an hour _ago_."

"What the hell are you doing?!" Rachel yelled to him, ignoring his comment.

"What am I doing? I do what I, uh, do _bes-_t. Can I ask what you're doing?" The Joker smacked his lips.

"What?" Rachel asked stupidly.

"Why are you heerree?" The Joker moved his hands about as he spoke. He knew she was playing stupid, so he played along with her only making her look worse.

Rachel rolled her eyes, "I was curious."

"Ah, curiosity…hmm. Isn't that what we just…_talked_ about? Have you thought about what I had uh, said?" He Joker licked his lips and smiled.

"No! I would never go to your side. I wanted to see what chaos you've done next."

The Joker rolled his eyes up as if he were thinking, then looked back down at her, "Oh…so you admire my work?"

Rachel watched the grin on his face and she wanted to wipe it off. She knew the Joker was toying with her, and he was enjoying every minute of it. Rachel crossed her arms in annoyance.

"Who's Drew Thompson?" She asked smartly.

The Joker cocked his head and licked his bottom lip, "So you've learned about Drew hmm? Words do spread."

He patted Rachel's head and she quickly smacked his hand away. He began to snicker at her actions then suddenly pushed her against a wall with his hand grasping around her neck.

"Feisty, Miss. Dawes," The Joker smirked and licked his lips; "I like that in a woman. But. Play. Nice. You may find yourself without a right hand."

"Leave. Me. Alone," Rachel choked.

The Joker let go of her neck but quickly grabbed a hold of her hair. Rachel whimpered in pain. She felt his hand slide up the left side of her abdomen to her shoulder and whispered to her ear.

"Beautiful Miss. Dawes…" The Joker smelt her neck and looked at her face to face. "Nice perfume. Must you marinate in it?"

Rachel knew this was her chance, and she quickly kneed him in the groin. The Joker bent forwards with a loud laugh, but the pain seemed to quickly fade off as he grabbed her once again, more harsh then the first time. She had hardly the chance to run.

"Y'know, that was rude," The Joker licked his lips and cleared his throat.

"Just get it over with," Rachel spoke quietly.

The Joker cocked his head, "Pardon mmmee?"

"If you're going to kill me, just get it over with," Rachel stared at him right in the eye.

The Joker did not expect her comment, but he figured it was a good idea. However, something pulled him back. He gagged at the idea, but her red lipstick made her lips look succulent. Rachel realized the sudden relaxed muscles in his face, and she became weak. The Joker pulled harder at her hair, filled with sudden rage. He threw her to the ground, dragged her back on her feet, and pushed her around some more.

"Stop!" Rachel pleaded. She didn't know how much more pain she could handle.

For the last time he threw Rachel against the brick wall and flew himself on her. The Joker put each hand on both sides of her. Both of them were breathing heavily. The Joker's face was so close to Rachel's she could feel his breath upon her skin. She knew what the Joker had done to her just now, and to Gotham, but as she watched his dark, mysterious eyes, a sick kind of passion arose. Rachel did not know if the Joker felt the same, if he was just messing with her mind, but his quietness had surprised her. She imagined the person he used to be before the Joker, and it shrouded her mind.

Surprisingly the Joker moved his lips closer to Rachel's and her heart raced. She closed her eyes, just wanting to get it over with, but what she expected was a kiss. Instead, He suddenly bit her bottom lip until it bled, causing Rachel to open her eyes wide from his bite. Her reaction was to yell and push him away, but he did not budge. Instead he moved his mouth down to her neck and started to gnaw at it too.

"What are you doing?!" Rachel screeched, still trying to push him away, "Stop!"

What Rachel thought was passionate now became a nightmare. Unexpectedly she heard a man's voice call out to the Joker and he stopped.

"Boss, we've got to get out of here! Batman's exactly where we want him!" One of the clowns yelled.

The Joker grew a big grin on his face and looked back at Rachel. "Well that was fun while it lasted beautiful, but uh, now I've got business to attend to!"

The Joker ran off with his laughter that carried behind him. Rachel was disgusted with herself and what just happened. She rubbed her neck, and then felt the wound on her lip. After absorbing everything, she suddenly realized what she just heard spoken between the Joker and the clown. _Batman's exactly where we want him. _Without any hesitation, Rachel got to her car, following pursuit of the Joker and his henchmen.

**Well there's chapter 10! I hope it was alright. By the way, if you guys have any ideas about how Rachel and Joker's REAL first kiss should turn out then let me know. **


	11. This Is Getting Old

**Hey everyone! Sorry about how long it's taken me to update. I've been so busy lately with moving, graduating and final projects that I haven't been in the mood for writing. Nevertheless, I've written Chapter 11 and I hope it's to your satisfaction!**

Chapter 11

"This Is Getting Old"

Rachel was getting exhausted following the Joker. He was quick, but she finally caught up to him. It was almost frightening driving behind him. Cars were swerving every which way to get out of the Joker's path. In which case, those cars were left for Rachel to avoid and dodge. As she drove closer to the back of the van, Rachel caught a glimpse of movement through the window on one of the back doors of the vehicle. At first she assumed it to be one of the Joker's henchmen, but as she squinted her eyes to focus more on the figure, the face was not masked. In fact, the face was very familiar. Rachel couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her body fumed with anger as she watched Alfred struggle to get her attention, or anyone's attention, through the window of the van. He was suddenly pulled away and out of sight by one of the clowns before Rachel had the time to absorb what she just saw. Because the Joker knows who Batman really is, he has new ways of playing with his head.

"Of course he would do something like this!" Rachel yelled to herself in frustration.

Suddenly as she was lost in her thoughts, Rachel swerved in the wrong direction and into chaos as a car drove straight to her. The loud honk of the car vibrated through her. Rachel's heart pounded in her chest as she screamed to get out of the way. However, it was too late. The car collided with hers, and as the loud noises of hell was brought to her ears, everything became black and forgotten.

---------

The Joker laughed and chuckled as he watched the mess he was creating, oblivious about what had just happened to Rachel. He enjoyed listening to every screeching honk a car made at him. His plan was now set in motion, and Batman found his bait. The Joker glanced over at the man sitting beside him on the passenger seat. His face wasn't masked, nor was it bare. It was painted just as the Joker's, only neat and looked more like a clown would at a circus. The man slowly turned his head over towards the Joker, his side grin extended far up alongside his left cheek.

"Are you, uh, ready to play some gaammes Mr. Thompson?" The Joker asked dynamically.

---------

After Batman had left Gordon, his next step was to find the Joker. He wanted so much to give him pain, just as much as the Joker thrived to play games with him and let everyone know who Batman really is. It was sick and twisted, and a part of him feared that this would never end, but he knew he couldn't let that happen.

It didn't take long before Batman spotted one of the Joker's henchmen. It almost seemed strange; it was as though the clown didn't have a sense of place, just standing there alone under a flickering lamp post. Batman glided cautiously down towards his target so he couldn't be seen, but the clown had already noticed Batman before Batman had spotted him.

The clown glanced around nervously; just waiting for the bat to strike, but everything remained silent. He quickly took out a radio and spoke quietly through the device, letting another henchman know that he was found by the Batman, and it was only a matter of time before he would show himself.

Suddenly Batman raced down on top of the clown; swiftly tying a thin black wire around his arms to his waste. The clown did little struggle, if nothing at all. Batman pushed him hard against the brick wall of a building and his lips curved into anger. He then seized the mask from the clowns face and threw it violently, breaking it in half as it met the ground. Batman spun his head from the broken mask to the man tied up in front of him. He looked straight into his gray eyes that kept no expression.

"I'm going to ask you once," Batman spat demandingly, "Where. Is. The Joker?"

The man just stared into his eyes, slightly showing a grin. He knew it didn't matter whether or not he told Batman where the Joker was. He was on his way here anyway. Sure, it would save him the pain, but he wanted to see the look on Batman's shocked face when the Joker arrived.

As every second past Batman grew more irritated. As he watched the man's pathetic face show a grin with no answer, Batman clenched his fist and clobbered him in the side of his face. Blood splattered from the man's mouth as he choked out a laugh.

"You clowns are all the same," Batman snarled as he beat him down again.

The man fell to his knees, no longer laughing. He took a few breaths and cocked his head to the left so he could meet Batman's dark eyes. Everything became hazy as he watched Batman warp into two. Their stares were then abruptly interrupted by the sound of an engine and head lights were cast upon them. The injured clown looked back over to Batman, but he was gone. Once the vehicle pulled in, the engine was turned off but the headlights remained on. Everything kept quiet and still with no one exiting the vehicle.

Batman recognized the van, knowing full well it was the Joker. He readied his stance, waiting for someone to open a door and walk out of the vehicle, but as five minutes past he started to wonder if they were going to come out at all. Batman knew then that he would have to make the first move. He flew down off the three story building and landed on the ground in front of the van. Batman watched as shadows moved around in the front seat. Finally both the driver and passenger doors opened, and without any hesitation the Joker hopped out first holding a machine gun. The man in the passenger followed after, holding a machine gun as well. Batman recognized the man as Drew Thompson. He scoffed as he noticed the guns.

"Why do you bring a gun when you feel you can't kill me?" Batman asked suddenly.

The Joker tilted his head as both he and Drew walked up towards Batman.

"Why, isn't it obvious?" The Joker asked licking his lips, "I like the way I look with a gun!" He looked back behind him and waved his hand.

The rest of the Joker's henchmen jumped out of the van and stood behind the Joker and Drew. The last two remaining clowns dragged out a man from the back of the van, and Batman peered over the Joker's shoulder to see who it was.

The Joker watched Batman's face with glee. He almost felt like clapping his hands in excitement. "I believe you know. Who. This. Is?" The Joker pushed his green curly hair aside and walked backwards beside Alfred; tightly wrapping his fingers around his forearm. He then pushed him towards Drew for him to take.

"Alfred?" Batman spoke in utter surprise and confusion.

"Ah poor batty. Y'see, I have all this new information about your _i-dent-it-y _and I thought 'Why not use it against you?'" The Joker explained as he patted Alfred's head, "So heeerreee we _are_," He bit the inside of his cheek.

"Let him go," Batman spoke stiffly as he took a step towards them.

"Now now," The Joker took out a knife and placed the cold steel against Alfred's neck. Alfred jumped in surprise by the metal sliding across his skin. This action stopped Batman in his tracks, "We don't want anything stupid to, uh, happen do weee?"

"What do you want?" Batman asked with disgust as he stared at the tape on Alfred's mouth.

"That's more like it," Joker said with a heartless grin. "I think you know what I wan-t."

Batman didn't move a muscle. He knew exactly what the Joker wanted, but he couldn't do it. He couldn't admit to Gotham who he really was. The Joker would stop at nothing until he got what he wanted. Batman wouldn't let him have it.

"Would you really risk a life," Drew spoke up to break the silence, "One that you know so well?"

Batman shot a glance at Drew. Who was he to say something? To be so important to the Joker? As he kept quiet and still, Drew continued on talking.

"If you don't do what we want, there are many more people in your life that we can kill one by one," Drew smirked.

Batman suddenly thought about Rachel, and slowly his fists clenched together in anger. The Joker kept quiet as he listened to Drew's wonderful words. He smiled at his comment, but then he thought about Rachel as well. Without realizing his smile vanished.

"Let's not, uh, get ahead of ourselves, hmmm?" The Joker interrupted and cleared his throat. "This is the deal. You tell Gotham your true self and, uh, we will bring Alfy home safe and sound. If you don't, well, he'll look just a little bit. Like. Me," the Joker growled, taking the knife to the corner of Alfred's mouth.

Batman looked at Alfred in the eye who was already staring at him. Alfred started to shake his head in plea. Batman knew he was telling him not to listen to the Joker, but he didn't want Alfred to get killed. He couldn't just leave him.

"This is getting old," Batman said bluntly out of his thoughts.

The Joker faced the ground, but his eyes shot up at Batman. A grin curved his face as a curl of hair fell forward. "Pity."

Suddenly the Joker stabbed Alfred incidentally in the arm when it really was supposed to be in the gut. Alfred knew it was coming, and he pivoted himself around so the knife would stab his arm instead. Alfred's cry in pain was muffled behind the tape as the Joker kicked him to the ground, already trying to block himself from Batman's wielding arm. The Joker's laugh filled the air as he ducked under the flying fist plummeting down at his face. The red, white and black colours of paint on the Joker's features danced around in a blur as he tried to dodge the bat's punches. Unexpectedly to the Joker, Batman striked him in the abdomen with his boot. One of the clowns jumped onto Batman's back, trying to swipe him in the head as many times as he could until Batman finally grabbed him by the arms and flew him forward across the ground.

As Batman was occupied, Drew walked over to the defenceless Alfred lying on the cement. He crouched down and picked up the bloodied knife. Drew cocked his head and watched Alfred squint up at him.

"Poor little rabbit has got no where to go," Drew chuckled ludicrously. It was just as chilling as the Joker's laugh.

Drew placed the knife on Alfred's face and slid it back and forth until it reached his neck. Alfred's sweaty face was filled with distress.

"Shh shh, don't worry. This will be over in a moment," Drew whispered in his ear.

When he was free from the Joker for the moment, Batman spun his head around at Drew and Alfred. Without a thought he bolted towards them, kicking the knife out of Drew's hand. Thompson was caught off guard as Batman pulled him up and tossed him into a brick wall. He fell hard on the ground, not getting up from his spot. The Joker gritted his teeth as he fixed his purple coat and green tie.

"Well done Batman," The Joker clapped, "I hope you had as much excitement tonight as I did," The Joker smacked his lips.

Batman was crouched beside Alfred as he watched both the Joker and Drew get into the van. The rest of the henchmen followed behind them and climbed into the vehicle as well.

"Next time," Batman spoke to himself as he watched the van sped off, "You won't get away."

Alfred's muffles caught Batman out of his trance and he slowly took the tape off of his mouth and cut the rope in half.

"Alfred, are you alright?"

"Yes, Master Wayne, thank you," Alfred replied within breaths, "Although, I don't think someone is."

Batman stared at him with confusion, "What?"

"Rachel," Alfred coughed.

Batman's face went completely blank, "Rachel? What about Rachel?"

"I saw her following us, but just as I was pulled away from the window, I think I saw her get into an accident. I fear it was my fault…" Alfred's voice was sad as it trailed off.

Batman did not have all of this room to absorb the information that was just given to him. "Rachel was in an accident? How bad? And why do you say it's your fault?!"

Alfred paused for a moment before he spoke, "I didn't see how bad it was, she might not have been in an accident, I couldn't tell. She must have seen me, and I might have distracted her."

Batman shook his head, "It's not your fault, but we've got to bring you to the hospital and check if Rachel is alright. She has to be."

Batman changed his outfit and helped Alfred get to a taxi. They kept completely quiet on the way there. All Bruce could think about was if Rachel was still alive. The thought stayed in his mind although he knew the best thing to do was to stay positive. If he had the choice, he'd be having a mental break down right now. The one thing that ate away at Bruce was the last conversation he had with her earlier on the phone. He'd been so selfish lately with what he wanted that he never thought about how Rachel had been feeling. Bruce rubbed a hand over his face as the truth came screaming back to him.

Once they both arrived at the hospital, Alfred left to get stitches for his wound. Bruce walked over to the counter where a woman with blonde hair stood. He asked for Rachel Dawes, and found out that she was in room 233. Bruce was half expecting that she wouldn't be here. As soon as he found her room he peered into the small window on the door. She was unconscious for the time being after just having her surgery. Rachel had many injuries, including a fractured arm and a concussion that would cause her to have some disorientation.

Bruce walked into her room, upset to have to see her in this state. He slowly sat beside her and placed a hand on hers. He was unsure on what to say as she laid there unconscious, so he stayed quiet. Bruce wanted nothing more but to hold her. In some way he felt this was his fault. Rachel wouldn't have been following the Joker if he wasn't the Batman. Bruce shook his head, realizing that he was being just as ridiculous as Alfred. He stared at her cut up face and choked up a bit. He'd do anything to take her place, and keep her safe. Bruce thought about what Drew had said. The Joker will keep trying to take the people he knows and use them as a way to get him to confess. Sure, he's saved them so far, but for how much longer will he have to do this? Until the Joker finally gets locked away? That could take a long time. Bruce sighed as he stayed by her, hoping soon she'd wake up, if only she would wake up.

**I know I said I would let the Joker and Rachel have their first kiss on this chapter but I never got to it, so I'm sorry! I'm also sorry I didn't have any Joker and Rachel parts in it either, but I figured since the last few chapters had some I should add a bit of Bruce/Batman this time, seeing that I haven't for a while. This is supposed to be a love triangle between these three characters so it's expected! Don't worry though, the next chapter will have plenty of Rachel/Joker action, I promise! :D**


	12. Visitor

**So here I am on my 12th**** chapter! Thank you for the replies from both chapters 10 and 11, those are what keep me writing. I love to hear from you guys, and I look forward to hearing what you think on this chapter. I hope you all enjoy!**

Chapter 12

Visitor

_Everything was dark. Rachel felt her way around the room, at least she assumed it was a room. All was quiet except for the floor boards which creaked under her feet as she walked. She was confused, scared even, for she did not know where she was or how she got there. No matter how far Rachel went, she never reached a wall or some sort of barrier to stop her. Everything was hollow and dank with only the strange cold to chill her bones. She tried to remember anything, but all was lost. Nothing made sense until suddenly, a horrified laugh echoed the never ending void around her. It came from all directions, never showing its source. It moved closer and closer to Rachel, and she could hear the disturbing noises shoot through her ears. She spun around only to gasp in complete shock at what she saw. Harvey's cackling two face which poisoned her mind. Rachel watched in terror as each of his visible veins and muscles moved with his laughing jaw. A scent then moved up to her nostrils, some decomposing rancid stench that made her stomach turn in revulsion. With that Rachel felt the only thing she could do was screaming. As she opened her mouth and bellowed, she closed her eyes in hopes he would go away._

As Rachel opened her eyes again she found herself wake up in a bed, still screaming from the nightmare she just had.

Suddenly someone who had been sitting on a chair in a corner of the room ran out of the darkness and into the light from the lamp beside her. Rachel was confused as to where she was, and everything around her was a blur. She blinked hard until finally everything came into focus and she realized she was in a hospital. The figure beside her she could now see was Bruce, who had a face of relief. Rachel also began to feel calm at his friendly smile.

"What happened?" Rachel asked weakly with her right hand over her forehead.

Bruce stroked Rachel's hair, happy to hear her voice, "You were in a car accident, and have been unconscious for two days now."

"Two days?" Rachel sat up in disbelief. She gasped from the sudden pain that rushed through her arm. Bruce placed a hand on her shoulder as he wanted her to lie back down.

A young nurse then walked in after hearing the moans of pain, and both Bruce and Rachel put their attention on her. Rachel watched as the nurse took out a pill from a container in her hand.

"Have one of these," The nurse spoke as she gave her the pill, following after a glass of water, "It's nice to see you finally awake. Mr. Wayne here has been worried about you."

Rachel smiled back up at Bruce who began to speak, "Alfred and Commissioner Gordon also send their condolences. I'll make sure to tell them you've awaken."

"Oh how is Alfred, is he-" Rachel started to quickly say but Bruce interrupted her.

"Yes, he is fine, but we can talk more about that later?" He hinted as he looked from her to the nurse, and then back to Rachel again. He didn't want the nurse to listen to anything Rachel might say about the Joker.

"Also," The nurse spoke suddenly, "Another man came in too. He didn't have much to say, but he was really charming."

Rachel was about to comment on what she said, but Bruce spoke first, "Really? Another man? Do you know who she's talking about Rachel?"

Rachel was just as confused as Bruce, "Well, no not that I can think of."

"Did he say his name?" Bruce asked the nurse, almost annoyingly.

The nurse paused for a moment and then spoke, "Actually no. Now that I think of it, he never did say his name, not to me anyhow…" Her voice trailed off, thinking.

The nurse took the glass from Rachel after she was finished with it and walked out of the room. Rachel was lost in thought about who this mystery person could be. She thought about the Joker, but it almost seemed absurd to think it was him. Suddenly Bruce pulled her out of her trance.

"I wonder who that man was."

Rachel looked over at Bruce with sleepy eyes. She would like to figure it out, but right now she felt drowsy, "I don't know," She said in a yawn.

"Well, I'll leave you to sleep," Bruce smiled again, but she could tell he was still curious; "I'll visit you tomorrow," Bruce turned around to walk away but quickly faced Rachel again, "Oh, I'm planning on having a surprise for you when you get out of the hospital, so hurry up and get well!"

"Bruce!" Rachel said with a big smile, "Why did you have leave me with that?"

Bruce laughed as he walked backwards towards the door, "It's what I do."

Rachel watched Bruce leave her room. Her smile remained on her face as she thought about what her surprise could be. It didn't last long before it slowly vanished within her thoughts. Rachel wondered about the person the nurse had mentioned. She thought about the Joker then, imagining if it was him who really visited her while she was asleep. She pictured him without his face paint and wearing a normal outfit, asking the nurse if he could see her. A part of Rachel wished it was true and she didn't know why. She thought it must have been the bump on the head she got in the accident. As her notions got the better of her, she slowly found herself drifting off to sleep.

---------

After two weeks went by, Rachel found herself getting better. Bruce visited her almost everyday, as long as he wasn't busy planning to rebuild Wayne Enterprises and upgrading his Batman suit with Mr. Fox. Each time he came by he reminded her about the surprise, and Rachel couldn't help but be curious. However, the mysterious person who visited her while she was sleeping never came by. Rachel hoped that this person would, but with each day that went by, she found herself become more disappointed. Gordon and Alfred visited her though, each on separate days, and both gave her a large bouquet of flowers to leave at the end of her bed. Rachel was thrilled about that, and thought that she should just forget about the strange visitor from two weeks ago.

The next night Rachel found herself having another one of those nightmares. Once she awoke she sat up rapidly, catching as many breaths as she could. The room was dark, and the only light source was the lamp post outside which was one floor down. She peered over to the chair in the corner of the room and noticed a dark figure sitting there quiet. Rachel figured it was Bruce, but thought it was odd for him to just sit there. He'd usually run up to her and ask if she was alright, but that was not the case. She called Bruce's name, figuring he was asleep, but there was no reply. Rachel sat there for a moment in thought, biting her bottom lip. She didn't want to disturb Bruce from his sleep, but she had a bad feeling boiling in the pit of her stomach. Rachel called again, and this time the figure stood up.

"Y'know, it's impolite to wake a man from his…sleep."

Rachel froze in place. It was the Joker after all. She watched as he walked closer to the side of her bed until he sat down in the chair beside her, still faceless in the dark. She then heard a faint _click_ and the light on her bed table switched on, reviling the Joker's painted face.

"You're not much of a sleeping beauty are you?" The Joker frowned as he bit the inside of his cheek.

"I…I had a nightmare," Rachel stammered, not knowing what else to say.

"A nightmare, hmmm? Was it…by any chance, about meee?"

"What are you doing here?" Rachel asked nonchalantly without answering his question. She leaned against the head board to listen to his reply.

The Joker scoffed, "I wanted to see how poor Miss. Dawes was doing, maybe, uh, suffocate her in her sleep."

"Why didn't you then?" Rachel was wondering to herself why she would ask him the reason for not murdering her, she didn't want him getting any ideas, but it was the Joker, it seemed to be his job yet he didn't do it.

The Joker lifted his left eyebrow, "As much as I would like to answer your un-in-por-tant questions - actually, you know what, I'll explain it to you this way," The Joker spoke as he leaned forward, and Rachel just watched in uncertainty, "Now, as I believe, Drew thinks I shoouuuld, hmmm. Drew thinks I should…kill off…all of Batman's con-nec-tions," The Joker licked his lips.

Rachel's eyes widened in disbelief, but why should she? This is the Joker after all. "Since when do you go by what others say?"

"Y'see that's…that's the problem," The Joker nodded as his eyes blinked slowly, "I don't."

"So what will you do then?" Rachel tried to sound as calm as possible.

The Joker paused for a moment in thought and then cleared his throat, "Miss. Dawes, I would gladly take this knife," He pulls a knife out of his pocket and hangs it over Rachel's face, "And use it on you just to hear you squeal, but I can-t. Not yet anyhow."

Rachel stared at the Joker blankly, and could feel her heart pound hard in her chest. She could not believe that the most wanted criminal in Gotham was right here sitting beside her hospital bed, unable to kill her. Rachel sat quiet and confused as she listened to his next words.

"You would be my main subject against Batman, and Drew knows that, but there is one thing that he does. Not. Know." The Joker smacked his lips.

"And what is that?" Rachel asked, but not really wanting to hear the answer.

"I have too much fun with you Miss. Dawes, almost as fun as…the Batman," The Joker's words rumbled deep in his throat and Rachel felt a sudden fear within her. He noticed this and he laughed, "I'm not ready to hand you over to a grave, no."

"What are you talking about? Why do you have so much fun with me?!" Rachel's tone grew louder as her patience grew thinner and the Joker plugged his hears and then placed the knife to Rachel's throat.

"Shh shh, you don't want to attract…attention…do you?" The Joker whispered. After a few moments of silence the Joker bit his lip and slowly set the knife back into his pocket. "Now that's better. Hmmm," He tapped his chin with his index finger as his eyes stayed fixated on Rachel's. "Do you want to know why I despise money?"

Rachel shook her head as she stayed frozen in place. She did not understand at all what the Joker was getting at. She wanted to scream for help, but she also in some weird way liked the thrill that he was there beside her.

"Well that's too bad because I'm going to tell you anyway. I hate money because it's…inconvenient," The Joker licked his lips and could see Rachel was still confused, "What the whole point of it is, is that you, like money, are inconvenient. You get in the way with the things that really matter…but there's a problem. Many people despise wealth, but few know how to give it away. I'm not in those groups of people, but with you, you're different."

"Okay, so what? I'm hard to let go of?" Rachel's eyes squinted in uncertainty.

"Don't flatter yourself beautiful. I'm only heerree for the thrill of messing with your head." The Joker smirked.

Rachel did not like what the Joker was saying, but a thought had suddenly crossed her mind. "Really? What's so thrilling about this? Me here in a hospital bed?"

The Joker smiled, "You're helpless."

Rachel clenched onto her sheets, "I'm not as helpless as I was a week ago, so I guess you lost your chance."

The Joker chuckled and shook his head. He was looking at his feet for a moment, but then looked up back to observe Rachel's face. She felt uncomfortable then, as if she were on display. She watched his eyes move up and down her face; those mysterious eyes that showed a lot of pain and anger.

"We now, uh, have something in common," The Joker licked his lips.

Rachel was taken by surprise at his comment, "What?"

"Me and my scars, you and your scratches on your face. I think we're a pair now."

Rachel found herself suddenly chuckle at what he said. He gave a slight smirk as he kept observing her. The light cast some odd shadows on his face and Rachel suddenly realized who was beside her. She stopped her laughs, and she looked down at her hands. She wanted to use them as a weapon against him, but that would have been foolish, just something else the Joker could laugh at.

The Joker wasn't aware how long he was staring. As soon as he became conscious on what he was doing he felt sick to his stomach. The Joker stood up and walked over the window in anger with his back facing Rachel. He wanted so much to detonate the hospital with her inside. He wanted so much to hear her scream for mercy.

Rachel watched the Joker stare out the window. She wanted so much to know where he was coming from, what he was thinking, although his thoughts at the time would have made the saying "ignorance is bliss" a true statement. Her heart took leaps as she watched him fix his suit. One of the things Rachel liked about the Joker was his hands. They looked soft and gentle, even though they were the hands of a murderer and were covered with spots of dry white paint.

Time started to pass and Rachel was getting tired. She didn't want to fall asleep with the Joker still in her room, so she had to say something. She also spotted his fists clenching as if he were angry, and Rachel did not want to deal with it.

"Not that I care," Rachel spoke up, "But are you okay? You've been staring out that window for a while now."

The Joker didn't move one muscle or speak one word in reply. Rachel was assured that the Joker wouldn't kill her, but knew that he could still harm her. That made her afraid. She wanted to just leave the psycho clown alone, but the other half of her was curious. Rachel stood up from her bed; her bare feet touching the cold marble floor. She continued walking until she was only a foot behind him. Rachel reached out to touch him, but he only spun around and grabbed her wrist before she could do a thing. She tried to scream but he cupped his other hand over her mouth and pushed her against a wall.

"Don't. Ever. Touch. Me," The Joker growled, "Unless it's what you want."

Rachel nodded as best she could behind the power of his hand. Surprisingly the Joker let her go, placing his hands against the wall on each side of her. He was breathing heavily as he rested his forehead on hers. Rachel kept still, not wanting to aggravate Joker again. She wanted to question him more, but she felt this was not the time. She was confused, confused because he didn't make sense. He didn't want her to touch him, yet here he was resting his forehead on hers. Rachel knew the Joker was messed up, but this was different. Rachel's chest rose and fell with his. She could feel his body heat and it warmed her up. She could no longer feel the cold marble on her feet.

Rachel found herself in one of those moments again. She remembered the other night when she almost let herself go to the Joker. Her knees became weak as she memorized how much she wanted to give in, to feel his lips upon hers, and she wanted it again. Rachel always lived on rules and what was right and wrong. She was tired of it, and the Joker was right. She wanted a taste of coming out of her comfort zone, and thought the Joker wanted it too. Rachel knew she was crazy to want this, even for a moment. She couldn't remember Harvey, Bruce or any others; they just slipped away from her mind. Something about the Joker's charms lead her to this point, but she didn't know what, all she knew is whenever he walked into a room, a special feeling burst inside.

Rachel could feel her stomach doing back flips as she was in a whirl wind of thoughts. Without anymore thinking, she went out on a limb and tilted her lips up to the Joker's. However, before they could meet, the Joker pulled his head back and looked at Rachel in confusion. Then, without another moment of waiting, the Joker snatched her hair in his left hand and pulled her to him. His lips pressed hard on hers which seemed like a rough peck. It lasted for only a few seconds until Rachel pushed him away. The Joker burst out laughing suddenly and Rachel jumped from the unexpected noise.

"Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo you do entertain Miss. Dawes!" The Joker spoke within his laughs.

Rachel just stared at him dumbfounded as he turned around towards the window. "Wait!" She yelled after him and he turned around to look back at her. "Will you be back?" Rachel kicked herself for speaking those words.

The Joker brought out a sly smile on the curves of his mouth, "You can uh, count on tha-t…once you're out of this place," He winked as he saluted a goodbye.

The Joker then spun back around and hopped through the window. After she absorbed what happened, Rachel ran after him until she reached the window sill. She glanced down the street and watched him run around a corner and out of sight.

"Is something wrong?" A nurse spoke behind Rachel, "You should be in bed."

Rachel took her attention from the street to the nurse, "Um, yes, I'm fine. I just needed some fresh air," Rachel laughed as she walked towards the bed. "Do you know how much longer I'll be here for?"

The nurse paused for a moment in thought, "Well judging by how fast you've been healing, I'd say in a few days," The nurse smiled.

"Thank you," Rachel returned the smile and waited for the nurse to shut the door. She then climbed back into the bed and turned off the light on her bed table.

Rachel lied in bed but could not sleep. She couldn't believe what just happened. She hated the Joker, and the kiss was probably one of the most unromantic she had ever received. If it were good at least then it would have given her some better logic as to why she would want to see him again. Rachel knew she needed help. This infatuation was eating away at her to the core in her heart. What Rachel wondered was, what would happen after she got out? She wanted to get into a deep conversation with him and ask some questions and hopefully get some answers. She tried to forget her thoughts as she turned on a small radio beside the lamp on her bed table that Bruce brought over for her. The song "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey came on. By the sound of the music, Rachel slowly drifted off to sleep.


	13. Afraid to Say My Name

**Hey lovely readers, sorry I have taken so long to update once again! I've been out of the mood to write, but I still have not forgotten you all. To answer your question WelshGalBeth you are very attentive :] Yes, I did get that part off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and there is actually one line in this chapter that the Joker says that is in Buffy as well. Maybe you will recognize it too! :D Sometimes these things just fit! Haha**

**Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the chapter!**

_"Your face it haunts,_

_My once pleasent dreams,_

_Your voice it chased away,_

_All the sanity in me."_

Chapter 13

Afraid To Say My Name

Just after a few more days, Rachel was released from the hospital exactly as the nurse had so vividly informed her. She was happy to finally get out, for it seemed to feel like she would never be able to leave. Rachel feared that her surreal dreams had tainted her to the point where she felt like she were going to go insane, and the only way to escape them were to depart from the hospital. However, Rachel wasn't going home just yet. Bruce had explained to her that he wanted her to go straight to his penthouse, and that he'd be picking her up. He seemed very casual when he told her, but Rachel knew he was trying his hardest to be very discreet about the surprise, and hoping possibly that she had of forgotten about it. She went along with it of course.

"Good to see you out, Rachel," Bruce grinned as he greeted her with a hug just outside the doors of the hospital. Rachel couldn't help but noticed how well dressed he had looked this evening.

"It's good to be out, especially when I no longer need to wear anymore nightgowns" Rachel chuckled as he showed her to the car. "Thank you for picking me up."

"It was no problem, in fact, it was my pleasure," Bruce replied as he unlocked and opened the passenger car door.

Rachel was hesitant for a moment, but then finally ducked her head and slide unto the leather seat. It was ironic to her that she was going back into one of these dangerous machines that only just got her into an accident almost a month ago. She quickly buckled the seatbelt over her as Bruce began to climb in on the other side.

"How much damage was done to my car?" Rachel blurted out, though she was unsure if she really wanted to hear the answer.

Bruce kept silent for a moment as he turned the engine on and began to back out of the parking spot. "It took a lot of damage, but don't fret. I've taken care of it."

Rachel watched a smile crease his face as he took a quick glance at her, then back at the road. "What do you mean you've taken care of it?"

Bruce took a another glance at Rachel, who's eyes squinted in curiosity. "Let's just say it's back to its original state in the underground parking lot of your apartment building, and leave it at that."

"Bruce!" Rachel yelled softly, "You know full well I can't just 'leave it at that.'"

"I know, I know," his smile remained on his face, "but I wanted to do this. It's my apology to you for being a jerk, better yet an ass, to you lately. Please, will you accept it?"

Rachel let out a side smirk and gave in, "Alright Bruce Wayne, I accept. Thank you."

"Don't thank me, it's something I wanted to do," Bruce said reassuringly.

It didn't take long before they reached their destination. They entered silently inside, and into the elevator. Rachel had wondered what was next. The car itself seemed like the best surprise he could have given her, but it appeared to Bruce that it was not the case. Rachel's heart took a few leaps. She loved surprises, and holding her excitement was unbearable. Rachel watched as each number above the elevator door lit up, then faded onto the next number. _Why does he have to live in the penthouse, the top floor of all places!_ Rachel thought. She tried her best to keep her mind clear of the Joker, and the wonderment of surprise seemed to do just that. Finally, a _ding_ had happily rung out inside the elevator, leaving them both aware that they had reached the top floor.

Bruce reached for his keys in his coats pocket, and began to unlock the front door. Rachel held her tongue as she peered inside his penthouse. The lights were on, and everything had remained silent. They walked inside, and all Bruce had held was a very large grin.

"What's going on?" Rachel asked with a slight chuckle.

Before Bruce could open his mouth to speak, a crowd of people popped out of their hiding places, all with such wide grins, yelling out _"surprise!" _which nearly knocked Rachel off of her feet from statement. She had noticed many familiar faces, that being Jim Gordon, Alfred, and many others from her work, including the Mayor. Rachel beamed with happiness as she looked cheekishly at Bruce out of the corner of her eye.

"I thought I'd set up a small welcome back party," Bruce said with the ridiculous grin still glued on his face.

Rachel paused for a moment in silence as she held a smile upon her lips. Bruce never ceased to amaze her, and even after a few seconds in thought, he could not escape her mind. Something came over Rachel, and she realized how absurd everything had become. Here she had the best man she could ask for, and she was turning him down. For what? For an insane madman? Rachel was crazed.

"What is it?" Bruce chuckled, his heart leaped in excitement.

Rachel shook her head as she felt her cheeks begin to warm up in embarrassment. "It's nothing, I'm just…happy," She said softly.

With that Rachel walked past Bruce towards her crowd of friends, his eyes remaining on Rachel; curious, yet satisfied.

The party had lasted for only a few hours before Rachel had began to grow tired. Everyone left with a wave and goodbye, and within a good ten minutes the only thing that remained from their presence was the half eaten food on the table and the empty wine glasses. The music was now turned off, and Rachel found herself dozing on the couch.

"I guess I better take you home Rachel," A voice spoke.

Rachel sat up slowly and opened her eyes to reveal Bruce's somewhat blurry face. She rubbed her eyes and nodded in agreement. Bruce took her to the car, and it didn't take long before Rachel felt herself falling back to sleep once again in the passenger seat.

"We're here," Bruce whispered as he nudged Rachel to wake up.

"I'm sorry I fell asleep," Rachel groaned with a slight smile, "I don't know why I'm so tired."

Bruce returned the smile happily, "You don't need to apologize, and you just need your rest." Without another word he stepped out of his car and walked over to Rachel's door and opened it.

"That wasn't necessary," Rachel laughed as she exited the vehicle. She didn't like so much attention and to be treated like she were someone important.

"Don't worry about what's necessary, now come on." Bruce wrapped his arm around Rachel's shoulder and began bringing her into the building. She wondered what was going on in his mind, but it seemed as though he was being careful with how to act around her. Rachel was glad to see he wasn't trying to win her heart once again with words, but this time with his actions.

"Well, I guess this is where we part," Bruce spoke as Rachel began to unlock her door.

Rachel turned around to meet his eyes, "I guess it is."

Bruce nodded. "Goodnight Rachel," he said quickly to avoid any unwelcome silences. Without understanding why, Rachel gave him a small peck on the cheek. With that he squeezed her hand and turned around, making his way down the hallway; leaving only the smell of cologne in his wake. Rachel smiled and bit her lip before she finally entered her apartment. It was dark and cold, so she hurriedly turned the lights and the heat register on. As Rachel turned to face the living room, she became startled, and gasped with shock by the tall, gloomy-like figure that stood before her.

"Oh, I'm sorry; did I frighten you Miss Dawes?" The Joker spoke coldly, and his facial expression showed no normal signs of amusement.

Rachel's eyebrows knitted in frustration, "What are you doing here?"

"Well that's no way to welcome a house guest," He replied still in the same tone of voice, now biting the inside of his mouth.

Rachel began to retort in anger, but she had finally realized that something was wrong, and she really had become frightened. He kept still in his stance, not moving a muscle.

"Have nothing to say? That's surprising," The Joker continued. "And to answer your so called question as to what I am doing here, let me remind you that it was your idea, not mine, to visit you when you were out of the, uh, hospital."

"Right, well, I've changed my mind," Rachel stammered, "I'm tired, and I'd like to sleep, without you just coming into my house whenever you like."

The Joker chucked and shook his head, "I get it, I get it. It's batsy that's got you all tied up in knots."

Rachel scoffed, "That is none of your business."

"Of course it's not, besides, I wouldn't want to know your…" The Joker gave a disgusted look and licked his lips, "…business."

Rachel paused for a moment in thought, "Are you…jealous?"

The Joker burst out into laugher, "Don't be so sure of yourself beautiful, I have to many things going on to be jealous over a bat."

"But you have time for me?" Rachel asked confused.

"I'll always have time if there is a sack involve-d," The Joker smirked.

"And you think I'm disgusting," Rachel snarled, "Get out."

"Don't see how having an attitude will help me leave," The Joker chuckled as he walked over to the kitchen table and sat down, "Then again, if you want me to leave, you could always wrap your arms around my hot, tight body and make me," He smiled, not taking his eyes off her.

"You're sick," Rachel was getting riled up, but the only problem was the Joker had been enjoying every minute of it.

"I'm sick? And what's your excuse?" The Joker laughed, "Here you play as an innocent assistant DA, but really, I know where you get your kicks. And those people out there," The Joker points out the window, "they have no idea that poor innocent Miss Dawes is standing here talking with the main criminal of Gotham, without saying a word to anyone. We've all got something to hide, and really, Miss Dawes, if anyone is sick, it's you." The Joker licked his lips, "At least I can admit that I'm sick," He finished with a lowered tone.

Rachel stood there in silence. She wanted to tell him off, but what good would it do? He always had something else to say. Besides, the horrible truth was that he was right.

The Joker patted his hand on the table, "Sit down."

Rachel hesitated for a moment, but ended up walking over to the table and doing what he said. He is the one with the knives in his pocket anyway, it was best to do what he said.

"You're one confusing man Joker. I can never seem to understand you," Rachel chuckled as she looked away to the window. She was not amused, and if anything her laughs were only filled with sarcasm.

The Joker shook his head and pushed his curly green hair out of his face, "Good, I'd like to keep it that way. Besides, if thee, uh, human mind were…simple…enough to understand," He clenched a fist in front of his mouth to clear his throat, "We'd be too simple toooo…understand i-t, Miss. Dawes." The Joker's head was dropped but he kept his eyes on Rachel. He then turned his head at the wall which seemed more interesting at the moment. She was relieved that he had now seemed more like himself once again,

Rachel looked back at the Joker. The awkward silence was getting annoying. He kept his hands under the table, but with the slight movement of his arms she knew he was fiddling his thumbs. "Have you ever been afraid?" She asked, not really caring why, just so the quietness between them would disappear.

Without warning, the Joker tilted his head back in laughter. It was so fast that Rachel had thought that it might have caused whiplash. It was only a few seconds until he looked forward again, and his laughs ended in a complete stop.

"No, no I have no-t," The Joker said as he smacked his lips and then bit the inside of his cheek.

As he spoke his words his eyes trailed off to the left, then back at her. She knew then that it was possible he was lying, but Rachel let it go. Being one that questions many people from past experiences does have its usages.

"Huh, really?" Rachel spoke in a non-believing tone, "Then why are you afraid to say my name?"

The Joker tilted his head to the right. His mind spun around like a hurricane trying to remember anytime he's called her Rachel and not Miss. Dawes or "beautiful." He became angry as he could not think of any. The Joker didn't like Rachel winning, but thought of something to say.

The Joker blinked hard in annoyance as he scratched the back of his head, "Hmm, good question. Since you've brought it up, it is, uh, appropriate now to say that I've never liked your, "so called name." The Joker air quoted, "Don't be too offended beautiful," He smirked; proud of himself.

Rachel nodded, "Okay, not everyone has to like it, I myself don't like calling you Joker but you've given me no choice," Rachel grinned back daringly, "but since you're not afraid, can I hear you say it at least once?"

The Joker gave her a sour look, "I don't need to, uh, listen to you…Miss Dawes," He said her last name very quickly as if he just thought to add it in to annoy her. "Remember our last little…conversation? I don't take orders from othherr people."

"Fine," Rachel shrugged as she stood up and walked into her kitchen; the Joker's eyes followed her movement, "It just proves to me that you really are afraid."

The Joker burst out of his seat and pointed his finger at Rachel, "I'm not. I am not afraid to say your name!" He roared in anger.

Rachel spun around in shock as she watched the Joker stride towards her. For something so small he beamed with fury, but why? Rachel backed a few feet away and thought that the only way to get through with him was to persist.

"Then say it!" Rachel yelled. She didn't care if the Joker was going to hurt her, she was just so curious and mystified as to why he just would not say her name.

As soon as the Joker reached her he took his right hand and wrapped his fingers around Rachel's neck. He looked up to the ceiling then back down at her who struggled within his grasp. She knew she couldn't give up, she wanted so badly to hear him say her name.

"Say my name!" Rachel choked.

"I'm not going to say-" The Joker started to yell but Rachel was quick to interrupt him.

"Just do it!"

"Fine. Rachel! You happy?" The Joker gritted his teeth as he stared down at her; ruthlessly letting go of her neck.

Rachel rubbed the area where the Joker's hand had laid. She looked up at him, taking deep breaths. She was relieved that he finally had said her name. Rachel expected the Joker to walk away in anger, but he only stood there, one foot away from her.

"Yes, I am happy." Rachel stated frustratingly, still trying to catch her breath.

Suddenly without warning the Joker grabbed her again, but this time he wrapped his right arm around her waste and pulled her to him.

"What are you doing?!" Rachel yelled as she pounded at his chest to push him away, only he didn't budge. Instead he pushed her against the fridge, leaning his body up on hers. The sound of glass jars rattling filled their ears for a few moments. Their faces were only and inch away, and Rachel stopped beating him with her arms. Not like she couldn't anyway; they were stuck between her body and the Joker's. Rachel's heart began to beat rapidly in her chest, so hard that she didn't have any doubt that the Joker could feel it too. She found herself unwillingly relax in his arms, and the Joker took this as a good sign. Rachel expected him to kiss her hard on the lips like he did before, but this time that was not the case.

The Joker moved his lips towards her, feeling her breath upon his face. Yes, he despised Rachel Dawes, but a part of him wanted to taste this hatred, to be in front row seats. Slowly he tilted his head and moved into a kiss, and Rachel accepted, running her tongue over her lips to make them moist. The kiss started out as small pecks, until the Joker opened his mouth slightly, placing them gently onto hers. Rachel placed her left hand on the Joker's painted cheek as she kissed his upper lip. She pulled away for a short breath until the Joker pulled her in again. He kept his hands tight on her waste. Rachel found herself lifting her right leg up slowly and wrapping it around his.

Rachel wanted nothing more but to pull him away, however his charms overpowered her. Every nerve in her body made her weak. Rachel enjoyed this kiss; in fact she couldn't recall ever having a better one. Her thoughts moved to Bruce then, and she quickly pushed the Joker away. He gave out a laugh.

"I can't believe I just did that!" Rachel yelled to herself as she wiped away any essence of the Joker's lips on hers.

"Oh, I can believe it," The Joker smirked, "Well, I'm sure you'll be sad to hear that I have a busy night tonight, so I can't stay."

"Very sad," Rachel said sarcastically, then realized what he had just said, "Wait, plans? What plans?"

The Joker smirked and grabbed her chin between his thumb and index finger, shaking her head form left to right, "Don't worry beautiful, it's poker with the goons tonight, I hope you're not toooo disappointed."

Rachel sighed with relief, and with that the Joker left quickly out of the fire escape, leaving the cold air to breeze through the window and onto her skin. She ran towards the window and locked it up, only realizing once again how tired she was. Rachel turned off the lights and went straight to her bedroom. As she started to walk towards her closet, something on her bed had caught her eye. Rachel spun around quickly to face it, noticing a round, black and red box sitting on her pillow. She raced towards it and picked it up, knowing full well that it had looked like a box of chocolates. Rachel slowly opened the lid, and by her hypothesis she was right. There sat at least ten neatly placed dark chocolates that waited to be eaten. Rachel shook her head in bewilderment, believing that if it were even possible it was from the Joker they would be filled with poison. She looked back down at the pillow and noticed a small card sitting there. With a free hand she picked it up and opened it. Surprisingly, in some very messy handwriting, the same handwriting that she had seen sometime before, read: _Glad to see you are well again._


	14. A Plan To Kill

**I realize I haven't updated for quite awhile, but with not many reviews I have been sadly left discouraged. I've noticed though that some of my chapters seem to be the same lately, so I hope this chapter will make up for it. As always, please enjoy, and please comment as well. I don't mind hearing advice either. :]**

_Day after day I'm more confused  
Then I look for the light through the pourin' rain  
You know, that's a game, that I hate to lose  
I'm feelin' the strain, ain't it a shame_

Chapter 14

A Plan To Kill

It had been a few long days since the night Rachel was let out of the hospital. She had left the chocolates untouched, but kept them neatly placed on top of her dresser. It was hard to imagine the Joker showing an act of kindness, and she knew she could not fully trust him enough to eat something he had given her, at least not without at proper taste test from him first. Rachel spent most of her vacation time at home, but had Bruce to keep her company away from the sometimes lonely hours of the day. The more she saw Bruce, the more her feelings came rushing back to remind her that he was more to her then just a friend, but more. Whether or not the Joker showed a sign of jealousy towards Bruce that night was uncertain, but as time grew on with mulling things over, it seemed perhaps that he was, in fact, resentful. The Joker kept away from Rachel Dawes not because of jealousy, but of fear. After listening to himself say her name his stomach twisted in knots, but could not comprehend why. Something new had come about him; a wrenching feeling, and from the confusion and frustration he became more angry and bitter then ever before.

-------

It was a dark December night, and a cold breeze had swept into Gotham City, covering the streets in white shimmering snow. Many people stayed home, surrounding themselves around a warm and welcoming fireplace. For a month the Joker and his clowns had remained silent, and Gotham City was finally brought to peace from any chaos and destruction that the Joker could spit out at them. Although disappeared, he was still kept tucked away in the back of everyone's minds, never once forgotten in the midst of the Christmas Holiday's. Rachel wasn't sure whether or not to feel relieved or confused, and amongst the joyous cheers of celebration, Rachel remained quiet, which was unusual in the eyes of the people she knew. Although she tried, she could not hold her thoughts back. The Joker seemed perfectly fine when he left her a month ago, yet now he was gone, as if they had been in some sort of an uproar. Or, perhaps, it had nothing to do with Rachel, and he found a different city to use as his game board. It didn't take long before that suggestion was erased from her mind, because if that were the case, he would have been already on the news; splashing out his whereabouts and schemes.

"Maybe some lucky bastard got to him first," Bruce said blissfully, although with a hint of annoyance that it wasn't he who put him to justice.

Rachel felt herself sink deep into her chair from his insinuation. Sure the Joker was a maniac clown, but there was a part of Rachel that felt sorry for him, that felt that possibly there was a part of him that still had some sanity left. To her disgust she knew that a part of her cared for him in a way that could not be explained, or reasoned if that secret ever slipped out to somebody.

"Bruce, please…don't start," Rachel pleaded, trying her hardest to end, which seemed to her, a meaningless conversation.

"Well, it's possible. Why aren't you hoping that there could be a definite end to the Joker's insane plan to destroy Gotham?" Bruce asked, taking Rachel's request as term of offence, just as much as she knew it would have.

"No matter who the person is or what they have done, I don't wish them death," Rachel replied quickly, "Just as much as you shouldn't."

Bruce opened his mouth to speak, but closed it without a word. He sensed defeat, or at least an argument that he did not want to waste his breath on.

Rachel's eyes remained still upon her hardly touched plate of lasagne. She had so much she wanted to say, to figure out, but the words stayed frozen in the depths of her thoughts, bursting to want out. Bruce stared at Rachel like she was on display, his eyes burning deep into her soul, trying his hardest to understand her silence.

"What's wrong Rachel?" Bruce finally asked with concern, "You've seemed so distant these past couple of days."

Rachel looked up at him but held her tongue for a moment. She smiled in hopes to cover up her mess of emotions. "It's nothing; I guess I'm just not that hungry."

Although Bruce didn't know, thoughts of something happening to the Joker did creep into her mind from time to time. Rachel tried so hard to feel happy that he was gone, but now after wishing so hard that he was, she felt a strange kind of sadness inside her. In a weird and rather sick way she missed his frightening visits and his ludicrous charms. She missed the excitement of surprise from him, never knowing what was going to happen next, yet all the while hating it when it did. Rachel felt a love and care for Bruce that she could not feel for another, but the Joker gave her a different feeling she could not explain. It might not have been love, but it was something that kept her on her feet, something that kept her away from the same and somewhat boring routine of every day life.

Bruce laid a caring hand upon Rachel's, returning the smile she had given him. He hoped that maybe one day she would feel comfortable enough to tell him her thoughts, but little did he truly know what they were. Rachel sighed with guilt, just before Bruce reached over the table and kissed her forehead.

Suddenly the phone rang, interrupting Rachel from giving any sort of affection back, and stood up from her seat to pick up the receiver. Bruce kept silent as she answered, but was concerned when Rachel spoke and had no reply.

"Who was it?" Bruce asked as soon as she hung up the phone.

Rachel paused for a moment in thought, until she finally spoke a few seconds after, "I don't know…it was a dial tone."

For what seemed to Bruce as a possible mistake from the caller and hung up, Rachel had different ideas. However, she put it past her, and continued the rest of the evening with Bruce.

-------

When Bruce left Rachel's apartment after his visit, Rachel made her way into her bedroom to get changed. She peered over at the box of chocolates that still lay on her dresser. A second layer of dust was beginning to emerge on top, but Rachel still did not want to eat any. Her trust did not change for the Joker. After finally getting dressed into her pyjamas, Rachel slipped into her bed thinking about the lovely evening she had with Bruce. She did not want to think of anything else, and after a few short minutes, she finally drifted off to sleep.

-------

_Rachel laughed. His jokes always made her laugh. He stroked her hair and pulled it back behind her shoulder as he gave her a smile within his shadowed face, obviously amused by the creases that curved across her cheeks. Rachel's laughter subsided moments later, entranced by the look in his eye, giving an almost innocent yet appealing stare. His hand lifted within the silence, and without a word caressed his index finger across her delicate cheek bone. Rachel could feel her cheeks burn warmly against his touch, until he pulled it away only a couple precious moments after. His hand still remained out in front of her, and her eyes rolled down to the tip of his unbending finger which pointed diagonally to the colourfully blue-lit sky. There sat one single black eyelash, curving into a perfect half-moon form, tranquil in its ease of solitary peace. A smile escaped Rachel's lips as his words flowed smoothly into her ears._

"_Make a wish," He whispered._

_Rachel gazed into his mysterious eyes a moment longer until she slowly closed them into darkness. She didn't need to think about what she wanted to wish for. Rachel took a deep breath, and with that, she wished for him to never leave her, and that their love would always be strong. Rachel took another deep breath and blew onto the eyelash; it floated for only a few seconds, and then quickly flickered its way down into the dewy green grass, never to be seen again. Rachel glanced back up to his face, but it was no longer shadowed. His features were painted with whites, blacks, and reds._

Rachel woke up with a start, her chest rising and falling within her quick, deep breaths. She found the need to want to scream, but caught herself before she started. Rachel leaned back against the headboard in the blackness of her room, wondering what her dream could have possibly meant. She suddenly became very angry with herself. Rachel didn't want to feel this way; she knew perfectly well what kind of person the Joker was. All she wanted was to see the Joker again to remind her on how crazy she is for having these thoughts about this insanely deranged clown.

As the night went on Rachel tried to fall back to sleep, but could not seem to do so. Instead, she decided to turn on the TV and check the late news for anything on the Joker, and possible news that he was back in Gotham creating havoc once again, but there were no words spoken of him. Just typical robberies and people raging about politics.

"Just as well," Rachel spoke to herself as she turned off the TV and slipped back into her sheets, "At least everyone is safe from him."

Hopefully everyone.

------

The Joker's eyes prowled Gotham city with hatred. He wanted to see it burn and feel the heat through his skin. The Joker kicked the concrete of the building below his feet and kept his hands glued inside his coat pockets. The moon brightened the darkest corners of his painted face, and for one moment he felt an itch of annoyance that kept him from putting mass destruction upon Gotham. He shook his head; his muscles in his face relaxed enough so his cheeks would flap from side to side as he gave out a shudder, frustratingly trying to shake the thought away from his mind. Then there was Batman, the Dark Knight who so terribly wanted to see him put away. The Joker let out a slight chuckle, frightening his fellow clown mates with his insanity, not knowing what he would pull next.

"So clowns, what. Shall. We. Do?" The Joker finally spoke, his breath visible amongst the cold air.

Silence remained vigilant from the group behind him; careful not to say something wrong in any means. The Joker was always more touchy when he hadn't created chaos in a while. He smirked cunningly.

"Hmm…Mr. Thompson, what do you thin-k?"

Drew Thompson walked forward beside the Joker, and pretended to enjoy the scenery as he spoke.

"Well, I think we should be paying Batman a visit, don't you?" Thompson grinned wickedly as he lit a cigarette.

"That is a great idea!" The Joker replied happily and clapped his hands, "I haven't seen batsy for quite a while, I'm sure he misses us."

"And I think the best way to get the Batman to do what we want, is to take something away from him. Something that he could not possibly risk loosing," Thompson continued, still holding the same grin and taking a drag, "I think you know what I mean."

The Joker knew exactly what he meant, in fact he had thought of this already, but he did not want to involve Rachel in any of his plans again for the mere sake of seeing her face, and the fact that his plan on capturing Rachel before on the night of the destruction of Wayne Enterprises went terribly wrong, or at least not exactly the way he wanted it to go.

"As long as you do the capturing," The Joker growled, his excitement had vanished, "I have no problem with tha-t," He finished with a smack of his lips. He began to wonder if maybe if kidnapping Rachel again would be a good idea after all. _Poor batsy will be destroyed _the Joker thought. His heart began to skip beats in excitement as he bent down over a large, black leather bag, unzipping it to reveal a bazooka.

"It would be my pleasure, boss," Drew said slyly, flicking the half smoked cigarette off the side of the building.

------

Rachel woke up quite early the next morning with a terrible kink in her neck, and felt it was the icing on her poorly made cake. She stretched widely upon her bed, keeping warm under her covers as to not feel the cold air rush to her body once she stood up. Although she could not help it, Rachel had felt a strange feeling come over her suddenly; an emotion of worriment and fear. An odd draft settled upon her face which only made matters worse.

With that, Rachel left her covers and the warmth of her bed. Although it was still fairly dark out, a smidge of light from the street cast through her blinds, helping her navigate across the room towards her house coat that hung on her door. Rachel slipped the soft fabric over her shoulders and felt warmth again. She had wondered why it was so cold since she had left the heat register on. Confused, she pulled the door open while flicking the living room light on in the process. In shock and dismay Rachel found the window which exited to the fire escape was somehow open, allowing the cold breeze to enter inside her apartment. She hastily ran towards window and shut it closed; locking it right after. Rachel was overwhelmed by this, and she could not remember if she had somehow left it unlocked from the night before. She hadn't touched that window in ages, not since she last saw the Joker at least.

Rachel took a seat on her cold, leather couch, with thoughts rummaging through her brain. However, each thought that entered her mind and escaped so quickly that it left her empty. Suddenly, within the midst of silence, her phone rang. Rachel spun her head to face the alarming noise, wondering with a quick annoyance who would dare phone at 4:00am in the morning.

Rachel picked up the phone as it rang the third time, and before she could speak a word, Bruce's voice yelled hurriedly through the receiver.

"Rachel, is that you?" Bruce asked in a worried tone.

Rachel didn't hesitate to answer, "Of course it is, what's wrong?"

Bruce let out a sigh of relief, but his voice was still frantic, "I'm glad to hear you're still in you're home."

"Of course I am. What's wrong Bruce? You're scaring me."

"The Joker, he's made his presence known."

"What?" Rachel felt her heart begin to race.

"It's been all over the news this morning," Bruce began, "He's been causing more havoc than ever. I'm on my way right now to pick you up."

Rachel fell silent for a few seconds. She reached for her remote to turn on the TV, but the cable had gone out. Rachel somehow felt she would be safe, even if the Joker was up and about again.

"Bruce, I'll be ok, I don't want you thinking you have to protect me all the time."

Bruce let out a heavy sigh in frustration, "I don't want you arguing with me. It's not safe out there, or in your apartment," He paused for a short moment just before he spoke his next words, almost as if saying them would help him to believe they were true. "Rachel, the Joker said he was coming to kill you. Tonight."

Rachel lost her breath, not knowing what say in response. She felt her heart racing more than ever, not wanting to believe it. Just then she felt a presence behind her, with what also felt like a hand lay softly onto her shoulder. Without looking back she closed her eyes, listening to Bruce's voice over the phone calling her name repeatedly, hoping for a reply.


End file.
